Born to Fly
by Appleye2
Summary: Modern AU. Pilot Hiccup and Astrid were 'just friends', but those closest to the pair knew differently. Just as they finally come together, an escaped convict and his killer sister force the lovers apart. Full of romance, angst, drama, and suggested torture. And some lighter moments.
1. Chapter 1

**New modern AU story: This is the official Introduction:**

 **"Pilot Hiccup and fitness fanatic Astrid were 'just friends'. At least that's what they told everyone. Those closest to the pair knew differently, and waited for the day when the two of them finally acknowledged the love that was so painfully obvious to everyone else.**

 **But fate had much more in store for the two young lovers. An escaped convict and his killer sister force their way into the couple's lives in a way no one saw coming. The trail of devastation that is left behind could force this couple apart before they've even had a chance to truly be together."**

 **Hope that sent shivers down your spine! This story is full of angst, drama, kidnapping and suggested torture. Plus a few lighter moments. Enter at your own risk...**

 **I don't own the characters from How to Train Your Dragon, but I sure love to put them through the wringer!**

The drone of the engine was comfortingly loud and steady, the propeller whirring in a satisfying manner at the front of the little four seater high wing Cessna. The pilot, a young auburn haired man, frowned slightly as he checked the dials on the instrument panel. He tapped one to reassure himself. Happy with the result, he gave a small satisfied nod, and turned his attention back to the horizon beyond.

Suddenly a voice crackled over his headset, "This is truly amazing, Hiccup! I can see why you love to fly so much!"

The young man turned to his companion with a wide smile, "It is, isn't it! I've been flying since I was fourteen, and it still gives me a thrill. I really love it when I can see my own shadow on the mountain! It gives me goose bumps every time!" he crackled excitedly into her earpiece.

The young woman sitting close beside him smiled softly at his enthusiasm. The man really did love to fly, there was no denying it.

"I still can't believe I finally managed to convince you to fly with me," he teased in her ear.

"Well, when you get me safely down in one piece again, then you can say 'I told you so'," she warned him.

"When would I say 'I told you so'? I'm offended you would think I would stoop so low," he pretended to pout.

She laughed, "Oh, get over it, Haddock! You would so, and you know it!" she slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey! No pilot abuse! You want to get down safely? Then I'll need two working arms, thank you!"

"Ok then, I'll just save it up and wait till we reach the ground," she warned him with a twinkle in her eye.

He rolled his eyes at her, "I'm just _soo_ looking forward to that! Maybe we should just stay up here, and never land!" he suggested, slight static mixing in with his words.

"Yeah, so we can run out of fuel, crash and burn. Not a good look on your resume, I would think?" she bantered back.

"Who said anything about crashing? We've got wings, we can glide," he countered, raising an eyebrow and pretending to be offended.

"I may not know a great deal about planes, but I do know that _gliders_ glide, _planes_ fly. With petrol. In their engines."

" _Oh! Now_ you tell me! I wonder if I put enough in?" he thoughtfully peered at his fuel gauge, tapping it for emphasis.

"Ha! Don't kid, Haddock! …You are kidding, right?" she said, slightly worried. She wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not.

He turned to give the blonde woman beside him his famous lop-sided grin, "Of course I'm kidding!….Or am I?" He turned to give the dial another tap.

"Yup! We're good!" he announced happily.

She lifted her hand to smack him again, but he warned her off, "Uh, huh! No pilot abuse, remember? You want to have to fly this on your own?" he grinned cheekily at her.

The blonde put her hand back down, "You'll keep Haddock, you'll keep!" she smirked.

Just then, the plane jostled a little through some turbulence. Hiccup didn't pay any attention to it. It wasn't anything to worry about. Astrid however, instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm with a white knuckled grip. She had flown in planes before, but never in such a small plane as this. She had not realised how _bumpy_ it would be.

Hiccup glanced over at Astrid with concern, and saw her jaw clenched in fear although she was trying hard not to show it. He reached over, and placed his larger hand over her smaller one to comfort her.

"Just some turbulence, nothing to worry about," he reassured her. "Think of it as if we're driving on a gravel road. We just hit a few bumps in the road every now and again, that's all."

"Yeah, a road that's 3,000 feet in the air!" she gave a forced laugh.

"Why, Astrid Hofferson! I never thought of you as being afraid?" he tried to jolly her along.

She gritted through her teeth, "Afraid? Of freefalling out of the sky in a bucket of bolts? Why would anyone be frightened of that? Don't be ridiculous!" she denied sarcastically. She was feeling quite terrified at the moment, but she was glad for his touch. It made her feel _slightly_ better.

He smiled gently at her, "Your death grip on my arm tells me otherwise, Astrid."

She glanced over at her hand under his, embarrassed. "Oh right, sorry about that," she muttered, reluctantly stretching out each finger until she had finally let go, and slid her hand off his arm slowly, not really keen to lose her contact with him. His touch had always soothed her when she was troubled or upset, but that would be a little difficult when he needed both his hands to keep them flying in the air.

He tried to soothe her with his words instead, "We'll be there soon, and you can stand on terra-firma once more. You'll be fine. I built this machine myself, I know every bolt and piece of wire. She's as solid as a rock," he finished proudly.

Astrid twisted her hands together, a little too terrified to repartee with him at the moment. She gave a small nod instead.

Hiccup placed his hand on her arm, and spoke gently to her, "It's okay Astrid, trust me."

Astrid turned her azure blue eyes to meet up with his concerned deep green eyes. She sighed. She knew she could trust him with her life. They'd been best friends since they were fourteen. He'd always been dependable, and considerate. He'd always made her feel _safe_ when she was with him, no matter what hair-brained scheme they'd gotten involved in. He always found a way to get them out safely.

Astrid could never be called weak or sappy by any stretch of the imagination. She was physically strong and independent minded, and took no nonsense from anyone. But it was nice to know that Hiccup was there beside her. He always had her back, no matter what. And today was no different. If he said it was okay, then it was okay.

She finally relented, "Okay, I trust you. Just make sure we get there in one piece, alright?"

Hiccup chuckled and patted her arm before removing his hand, "You're safe with me, Astrid." He turned his attention back to the surrounding countryside.

Astrid placed her hand over the site where Hiccup's hand had been. It made her feel warm inside whenever he touched her, and she subconsciously tried to keep that warmth going. She glanced over at him, trying not to be obvious about it. He'd grown into quite a handsome young man, six foot three with longish auburn hair. He was not a massive man like his father. Instead he had a medium build with broad shoulders and enough muscles to be interesting. But you wouldn't know it as he usually wore slightly baggy clothes that hid his best features.

He also tended to wear long pants regardless of the weather, as he was a little self-conscious of the fact that he was missing his lower left leg, from half way down his calf. He had lost his foot in a car accident with his father when he was fifteen, and now wore a prosthetic foot. When he was at home or with friends, he just wore his regular metal leg that he had designed himself. But when he had to go out in public with people who might not know him very well, then he would wear his artificial foot with the shoe on it. It was a lot less obvious but it was also a lot more uncomfortable.

She noticed him jiggling that leg a little now.

"Is your leg giving you bother?" she asked concerned.

"Nah, not too much. Just getting a bit numb. When I'm on a longer flight, things start to go to sleep."

He flicked his eyes over to her mischievously, "That's when I have to do the bum dance."

"Bum dance? What on earth are you talking about?" she queried, thinking he must be slightly mad.

"You know, the bum dance. _Lift your left cheek up, put your left cheek down, lift your left cheek up, then you shake it up and down,"_ he sang to her with the tune of the 'Hokey Pokey' song.

Astrid couldn't help herself, she threw her head back and laughed hysterically. She had not expected that!

Hiccup chuckled along with her, glad she had relaxed from her fear. He covertly observed his best friend. Astrid was nineteen, the same age as him. She had a beautiful heart shaped face, with a long blonde braid over her left shoulder. When they were fourteen she had been taller than him, but he had long since overtaken her. Now she came in under his chin. He felt that she would tuck into his arms and his chest quite nicely, but they had somehow always avoided that particular connection. When they were younger they would sometimes hug, but not lately. It seemed a little too….intimate.

Right now she was watching him with tears of laughter in her eyes, "You have _got_ to teach me that!" she gasped.

He pretended to frown, "I don't know, it's a fairly complicated dance move. Think you could keep up?"

She nodded in mock seriousness, "I know it will be difficult, but I have every confidence that you will be able to teach me right," she finished, struggling to hold back another laugh.

He shot back, "Cause it can be difficult to co-ordinate the different body parts you know. First there's the left cheek, then the right cheek, then the shoulders and the feet, and to finish it off, you need to do all the muscles at once."

Astrid's imagination ran wild, she snorted, then couldn't hold it any more. She exploded into laughter, bent over double, holding onto her stomach. Finally she had to stop, struggling to catch her breath. Wiping tears of joy from her eyes, she tried to get it together, but as soon as she cast her eyes back over at Hiccup he started to sing, " _Lift your right cheek up, put your right cheek down…"_ and she just lost it again.

He laughed with her, delighting in the sight of her enjoying herself so much. Her face just lit up when she smiled and she became even more beautiful if that was possible. He loved to make her laugh, just so he could watch her. Her happiness meant so much to him, and he would do anything for her.

Soon they were both laughing as they flew, singing and 'dancing' to Hiccup's 'bum dance' routine. Sometime later, Hiccup had to pull the pin on their fun as they approached their destination, a short soft-field runway high in the mountains. This was going to require all his concentration. Fortunately, the weather was fine today, so the winds were fairly mild, not like the usual blustery conditions he had met with here on previous occasions.

He checked that the runway was clear and ready for him to land. Once he was convinced it was free, he prepared to line up his plane with the runway, reducing his speed, checking his instruments, adjusting his approach, his touch on the controls gentle and smooth. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Astrid was gripping the edge of her seat, but his concentration was on providing a safe landing.

He kept the nose of the plane down until the very last moment, then he lifted it up to prevent the nose wheel digging into the ground. He eased the plane down till it was just skimming over the surface of the runway, teasing the wheels with the promise of a connection, adjusting the throttle to keep the Cessna just over the surface, till finally the tyres reached land with a soft bump. The nose wheel eventually connected too. The plane pulled up short on the runway with plenty of room to spare, before they carefully taxied out of the way. Once parked, Hiccup continued with his post-flight checklist, making sure everything was in its correct position or turned off.

Astrid watched him as he concentrated on his instruments, amazed at the familiarity and confidence he showed with his machine. He was very methodical in his approach, and he made sure nothing got forgotten. He needed to be, any slip ups here could lead to very disastrous results. He chose to fly in some very difficult flying conditions, amongst the mountains, and some of the airstrips up here were challenging to say the least.

Finally after Hiccup had completed his logbook, and was satisfied with the instruments, they exited to finish securing the plane. Up here the winds could start up fairly quickly and without notice, so he always liked to take the extra precaution of tying the wings down.

"Well, as promised, we have arrived safely, m'lady!" he wriggled his eyebrows at her as they worked, unloading the medical supplies that they were delivering for his father.

She laughed, "Okay! You did good! Thank you for getting me back to land safely," she conceded.

"And?" he prompted.

"Oh yeah! I owe you a punch to the shoulder," she replied pretending to swipe at him.

He ducked out of the way, and waved his finger at her while he tisk, tisked. "Not nice, Astrid! Remember, you also need to get _back_ to Berk. Sooo…." he asked again.

"What? You want a medal or something?"

"No…just some recognition that you arrived safely courtesy of one of the best pilots on Berk!"

She laughed again, and put down the box she was carrying on top of the pile. "Just love the humility, so _oozing_ out of you right now," she complained, but with no real malice. Tipping up one side of her mouth in a smirk, she approached him and took hold of his collar, pulling him down to her level. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before releasing him. Smiling up at him she was happy to say it, "Okay! I'll admit it. You _are_ one of the best pilots on Berk!"

He grinned at her comment, until she added, "And the only one I've flown in a small plane with. That means out of all the pilots I've flown with, you are simply the best!" she finished with a cheeky grin. She jumped out of the road as he launched himself across the space between them, trying to give her a pinch.

With laughter flashing across her eyes, and filling the air around her, she mocked him, "Nice try, Haddock! You should know you could never catch me!"

He pursed his lips and said nothing, but his eyes had a mischievous glint about them.

Their attention was diverted as they completed unloading the last of the supplies. The welcoming committee could be seen arriving up the dirt track. Once the supplies were finally out, Hiccup locked the plane, and gently patted the fuselage over the call sign printed under the window, 'Night Fury'. He'd earned that name from the number of night flights he'd had to make over the years. Flying from his instruments in the pitch black of night had become his speciality.

Finally an old 4WD pulled up beside them, dust lazily rising from where the tyres had disturbed the earth. An older man hopped out of the driver's seat. He had a long blonde beard, with long yellow blonde hair under his cowboy hat. Looking over at the two, his eyes crinkled up into a welcoming smile, "Hello Astrid! How are you, love?"

"Uncle Finn! It's great to see you again!" she came over to be enclosed into a loving hug and a whiskery kiss. "I came by air this time with Hiccup!"

"I can see that. How are you Hiccup, my lad?" he shook the younger man's hand.

"Fine thank you, Finn. Good to see you again," he said respectfully.

"How was the flight? Any turbulence?" Finn enquired.

"No sir, it was mostly fine weather today," Hiccup responded. He flicked his eyes over to Astrid and back to Finn before he said with a straight face, "We had the odd bump or two, but nothing a little _cheek_ couldn't fix."

Astrid immediately sucked her lips in, trying to prevent herself from laughing. She turned away from Hiccup, focusing on anything she could find to distract herself.

Finn studied the two, noting all. He knew these two had been best friends since they were kids, but he also knew there was something much deeper between them. He'd seen how Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, and it was definitely more than 'just friends'. He wondered how long it would take before they realised that.

"Well, there's obviously a good story there somewhere, I'm sure," he announced. "Let's load up these supplies and get them to the hospital. Have you got time for some lunch before you head back?" he questioned.

Astrid and Hiccup eyed each other, "You said the magic word, Uncle Finn!" exclaimed Astrid with relief. "Food!"

Finn laughed, "Aye lass. You always did have a healthy appetite. Pity you never learned to cook. But eating? Never a problem there!"

"Why would I need to learn to cook? I have so many others who can cook for me! You, mum. Even Hiccup here can put on a mean feast."

"Really? You can cook, can you lad?" Finn eyed him with interest.

"I fancy I can put a decent plate on the table, sir," Hiccup said proudly.

Finn turned to Astrid, "Well then lass, you'd better not let this one get away from you, before someone else snaps him up. He cooks, he flies, he's handsome! What more is there to want?" Finn wasn't above a little not-so-subtle hint or two.

"Uncle Finn!" Astrid gasped, mortified.

Finn shrugged one shoulder, "What? … Just stating the obvious, that's all."

Astrid and Hiccup glanced at each other, embarrassed.

"We're _friends,_ that's all!" she exclaimed.

"Sure," replied Finn in a tone that indicated he clearly didn't believe that. "Just keep telling yourself that. Anyway, lunch won't eat itself. Help me load up and we'll be on our way."

Astrid and Hiccup helped Finn load up the truck before climbing in themselves, Astrid in the front with her uncle and Hiccup in the back. They chatted and laughed as they travelled, but Astrid couldn't help but think about her uncle's comments. She had never really considered that Hiccup might _not_ be there one day. But the idea of being his girlfriend, or even his wife wasn't one she had thought of before either. And to be honest, it wasn't an unpleasant prospect. She wondered if Hiccup had thought about her in _that_ way before. She found herself blushing, so she stared out the side window instead, hoping no one had noticed.

Hiccup was sitting right behind her. He noticed when her gaze shifted outside the window, and the slight red blush creeping up the side of her neck. He wondered if she was thinking about the comment that Finn had made.

Hiccup knew that he couldn't imagine being with anyone else other than Astrid. He'd had a crush on her long before she knew he existed. He had been astounded when she became his friend and they'd become even closer as they had gotten older. He knew he loved her deeply and it had been getting harder to hide it in recent months. He knew Astrid cared about him, but he didn't know if she cared enough to want to be his partner.

He had decided that they were both young, there was still time. He was just going to be patient and wait. If she decided she loved him too, then he would be the happiest man alive, but if she didn't, then he would be grateful to have her friendship. Her happiness was more important than his own. If she choose another over him, than he would just have to find a way to deal with that. He didn't know how, but he would have to find one.

He just hoped it never got to that.

 **Sounds like trouble brewing to me!**


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup taxied his plane towards his dad's private hangar at Berk airport. It was one of the perks of being the airport manager, having your own space. Inside, his dad's six seater Piper was already waiting.

After he had gone through his post-flight checklist, and was satisfied everything was to his liking, he hopped out of the plane and came around to open her door. Astrid had been waiting for him, and he now extended his hand to help her out. She was quite capable of getting out on her own, but he insisted on helping her, and it gave her a small thrill to place her hand in his and to be guided out by his strong arms.

As she went to exit the plane, she accidentally tripped and started to fall out of the plane. But Hiccup was right there, and she fell forward into his chest, landing against him with an 'oomph'. He automatically put his arms around her to steady her but instead of releasing her, he kept his hold on her, his face so close to her own. She felt his surprisingly firm muscles under her fingers as she noticed how dark his eyes had become and his mouth opened slightly.

Her own eyes widened, and she felt a little shiver go down her spine, as if a sudden chill had spread through her bones, leaving her feeling slightly weak at the knees.

The moment quickly evaporated when a voice called out from behind them, "Nice save, Hiccup! How was yeh first flight in a Cessna, Astrid?"

Hiccup reluctantly let Astrid go, giving her a wry look. There was something else there, something she couldn't decipher. She felt oddly disappointed that they had been interrupted. What had he been about to do? Was he going to say something? Had he been about to _kiss_ her? But they were just friends! Right? Then why did he hold onto her like that? These were questions she couldn't answer, so she did her best to answer the one that had been put to her instead.

Tearing her eyes away from his, she took a step backwards, creating a larger gap between the two. "Yeah, Gobber. It was pretty amazing, I'll have to admit." She gave a genuine smile to the large man before her. He was completely bald under an old faded navy blue fisherman's cap that he liked to wear. He wore no beard, but his moustache was his pride and joy. It was very long with ties in it to keep it neat and tidy. Very important when your job was working with airplane engines. Didn't want any stray hairs ending up in a rapidly rotating machine. He walked with a limp as a result of having a wooden leg instead of a real one. He also had a hook on one arm instead of his hand. But he never let his missing appendages stop him from enjoying life.

"Knew yeh'd like it," he grinned at her. "Hiccup's a pretty clever pilot. One of the best around here," he proudly boasted. Gobber was the head mechanic at the airport, and Hiccup's boss. He was also his dad's best friend, and often acted as a substitute father when Stoick wasn't around. Which was often.

"Hey, Gobber!" broke in Hiccup, feeling a bit embarrassed by the older man's praise. "What are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be in the workshop?"

He lent forward to connect up the plane to a mechanical towbar he had invented, a bit like an oversized mower. It was powerful enough to pull his plane or his dad's Piper, but small enough to manoeuver around the hangar.

Gobber eyed off his apprentice, "Keep yeh shirt on, Hiccup! Yeh dad wanted me to make sure you got back safe. He's in a meeting with some bigwigs from the capital, and he couldn't check up on yeh himself."

Hiccup just rolled his eyes, as he kicked over the motor on the towing machine. He pushed the gear knob out of neutral and kept the speed setting on 'slow'. It was quite noisy, so it was a little hard to hear anything after that. He worked at parking his plane in the hangar and securing it while Gobber talked to Astrid. He couldn't hear a word that was being said but he did notice the big man turn and wave to him. Hiccup waved back and continued with his work.

Once the plane was secured to his liking, he turned the machine off. The quiet was instantaneous, although he could still hear a ringing noise. Hiccup realised it was just his ears, still in shock from the high decibels. He muttered to himself, "Gotta remember to wear ear plugs next time," as he shook his head and rubbed his ears, trying to clear the sound.

"Boy that thing was loud!" said a voice close behind him. Hiccup jumped. He hadn't seen Astrid walk in and he hadn't heard her either.

"I didn't notice!" Hiccup said sarcastically, a little too loudly, his hearing still not restored. "I forgot to wear ear plugs so now my ears are ringing."

Astrid raised her own voice, "Well that would explain why you're shouting! Maybe you should wear ear plugs next time," she teased.

He grinned at her, "Good advice! Maybe I'll take it!"

After they walked out of the hangar, Astrid waited while Hiccup leaned on the huge hangar door, sliding it closed before locking it. He waved his hand toward the carpark.

"After you, m'lady!" he invited, his hearing having now returned.

They were walking comfortably towards the carpark, when Hiccup asked eagerly, "So what did you think of flying in the Cessna?"

He watched her keenly for her reaction. He had been flying for years, but this was the first time she had flown with him, and he was anxious for her approval.

Her eyes caught his warmly, "Hiccup, it was wonderful," she said truthfully. "I don't know why I put off flying with you for so long."

He beamed at her, his anxiety dissipated. "It's great, right! Maybe you could come with me next time dad sends me out on some urgent mission," his enthusiasm just _oozing_ from him in his typical childlike manner, as he waved his arms around excitedly.

Astrid laughed and put up her hands to fend him off, "Hey hotshot! Slow down! I don't know if I'm ready to take on a flying lifestyle _just_ yet! I still like my feet on the ground, thank you very much!"

Hiccup couldn't help the slight disappointment he felt. "Oh…"

She reached out to rest her hand on his shoulder, wanting to remove his sadness. She tried to compromise. "But I'm sure there will be plenty of times that I will be happy to come with you."

He grinned at her again, "I can live with that!" he exclaimed happily.

Astrid shook her head at him, "Honestly, you are like an excitable little puppy sometimes!"

She poked him in his ribs, "Just lucky I'm a sucker for a cute puppy face," she whispered in his ear.

Hiccup immediately tried to do his best sad puppy face on her. She laughed again and pushed him sideways. He quickly regained his footing and gave her his best lop-sided grin.

After a few moments silence, he asked a different question, "Are you still going to the party tonight?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Ruff told me it won't be a big party, just a few friends. Everyone's got work tomorrow. Oh! By the way, you have work tomorrow too. Gobber asked me to tell you he needs you to start early. 'No' wasn't an option."

Hiccup groaned, "Not again! I was supposed to have this weekend off to catch up with my study. I've barely seen Toothless, he'll be wondering if I even exist anymore!" he complained.

"Oh, don't be such a baby! I'll take him for a walk for you tomorrow while you're at work. That'll keep him happy. You can do your study in the afternoon. You know you'll get through it. I'll even come round and keep you company, how about that?"

"I'll keep you to that, you know."

"I'm sure you will."

They stopped in front of his Harley Davidson motorbike, a Heritage Softail Classic with its sleek chrome and black paintwork. It had a windshield plus a two-up seat, with studded saddlebags on the sides. The classic framework sat over the six speed, twin cam 103 engine, which delivered plenty of grunt for their satisfaction.

Hiccup picked up two open face black helmets, and gave one to her, making sure the helmet mic was turned on first. He collected their riding jackets out of the saddlebags, helping her on with hers before putting on his own.

The confidant young man then straddled the bike and turned the key, before flicking the 'kill' switch to 'on'. He pressed the start button and the bike immediately roared into life, with Hiccup adding a few twists on the throttle for good measure. The blasts from the motor filled the air around them, the satisfying thump-thump-thump vibrating through his chest.

"Man! Gotta love that sound!"

A voice came over the intercom, "You have serious thrill issues, you know that, right?"

He turned back to her and gave her a daredevil grin. "You love it and you know it!" he taunted her. She wasn't going to deny it.

He pushed out with his legs and backed up the bike, preparing for take-off. He paused, waiting for her to mount the bike behind him. Astrid grabbed his waist and hung on to him for balance as she flung her leg over the bike and settled into the slightly elevated pillion seat.

When she was settled in her seat, she gave him a squeeze to let him know she was ready. He gently increased the throttle to increase the revs… and the volume… ready to accelerate. Every time he powered up the plane for take-off, it gave him a shot of adrenalin that he could get nowhere else. Except on the back of a Harley. Especially when he had his best friend behind him.

"Give it all you got, Night Fury!" came an excited voice in his ear. Hiccup smirked.

"Who's got serious thrill issues now?"

She laughed heartily. He revved the throttle again, flicking the bike into gear and they headed steadily out of the carpark, before roaring down the road, the sound reverberating around the space between the buildings. They worked seamlessly as a team on the bike, bending into the corners together, before easing back into a vertical position for the straight stretches.

At one point they hit a small bump on the road, and he noticed she pinched his waist a little tighter. He chuckled to himself, "I noticed that bump didn't worry you so much," he teased into the mic.

"Hah! We are on terra-firma, baby! Not so far to fall," she retorted.

"You know, if Fish were here, he'd tell you that your chances of having an accident on the ground are much higher than in the air," he reminded her.

She giggled. "Somehow, I can't imagine Fish getting on this beast with you," she replied.

"His idea of a good time is behind the wheel of his Volvo with _four_ wheels on the ground. Wonder if he'd ever go for a trike?"

Astrid snorted into her mic. "Can't see that happening either!"

"Oh well, we'll just have to be the adrenaline junkies for him!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way! Thanks for the plane ride today. But I know who wins in the adrenaline stakes. You are _mad!_ "

"Flattery will get you everywhere! I bet if I could get you up there a few more times, you'd be doing loops and pulling G's real quick!"

"In your dreams maybe! Don't think I haven't seen you pull a few stunts in that plane of yours!"

Hiccup laughed. "Come and learn how to fly with me, and then we'll see if you change your tune!"

"I'll think about it…when I get a death wish!"

"Okay. What about your own bike then?"

"I can't afford one of these babies. Plus, why would I need to, when I can ride shotgun with you? All the excitement, without the dollars!"

"Oh, so there is a method to your madness, is there?"

"Always is!"

He laughed again, enjoying their easy banter.

"Anyway, where we headed? Your place or mine?" Astrid kept some of her belongings in Hiccup's guest room, for when she needed to stay over and look after Toothless when Hiccup and his dad were away.

"Mine, thanks. I need to let my parents know I survived the trip first."

"Didn't you tell them you were with the marvellous Hiccup? Master of the Air?"

"You better get a new helmet, Hiccup. That one seems to be shrinking with that big head of yours," said Astrid dryly.

Hiccup just laughed.

"So, have you had your fill of go-juice today? Am I picking you up tonight?"

"Of course you are! And before you ask, on the Harley please!"

"Of course m'lady! Nothing but the best for you!"

-oOo-

Later that night, Astrid and Hiccup pulled up in front of their friend's house, twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston. Hiccup let the motor rumble under him for a few moments more before turning it off. He twisted in his seat to help Astrid off, before swinging his leg back over the seat and getting off himself.

"Sweet ride! Not as fast as mine!" said Snotlout, leaning up against his red Ducati road bike, his arms crossed in front of him.

Hiccup and Astrid undid the chin straps of their helmets before pulling them off.

"It's not all about the speed, Snotlout," replied Hiccup, running one hand through his hair to shake it out, his helmet under his arm. He collected Astrid's helmet from her and hung both off the bike.

"Yeah, it's about arriving in _style_!" retorted Astrid, taking off her jacket and stowing it in the saddlebags. "Which we just did," she finished, grabbing Hiccup's hand and pulling him towards the house.

They walked through the front door, being held open for them by Tuff.

He greeted them, "Heard you two pull up. Know how to bring an entrance, dude!"

Hiccup grinned and fist bumped with Tuff. Astrid raised an eyebrow to Hiccup in a 'told-you-so' manner.

Inside, they were greeted by their friends. Fishlegs Ingerman was a big man with short, spiky blond hair. He was at uni doing a science degree, and usually considered the 'brakes' of their endeavours, attempting to be the voice of reason. They always listened, and then ignored his advice.

Snotlout Jorgenson came in behind them. He was a lot shorter than Hiccup, but had a very solid muscular build, with muscles he liked to flex. A lot. He worked as a mechanic and liked to show off with whichever nice car they were working on at the time. He thought he was a 'hit' with the ladies, and usually Astrid bore the brunt of his pickup lines.

Tuff and Ruff were twins, tall, scrawny, and with long blonde braids. From behind, it was almost impossible to tell who was who. They were both doing an electrical apprenticeship, but whoever thought it was a good idea to let those two loose with 240 volts must have taken some serious wattage to the head themselves. They were always trying to electrocute each other and see how long it would take to overload their home power system. Which never took long. And it was often.

Astrid was also at uni learning physiotherapy. She was a health nut and wanted to work in the sports field. Hiccup, of course, was doing aviation engineering. He was fascinated about how things worked, and was always inventing things. With his family's involvement in aviation, it just seemed a natural step.

There were a few other people there, some that Hiccup knew, some he didn't. They were mostly friends of Ruff and Tuff, dancing to the music or just standing around and talking.

Fishlegs offered Hiccup a beer, who accepted. "This will be my only one tonight. Gotta drive home safely," he told Fish, before the bigger guy could start up with his alcohol lecture. "Besides, I have precious cargo." He indicated to Astrid behind them, talking to Ruff. Fishlegs nodded his approval.

"I heard you took Astrid up in your plane today. How did that go?" Fish asked.

Hiccup grinned, "Yeah, got a little too bumpy for her liking, but she stuck it out. I'll have to try again on a windy day and then I could _really_ test her out!"

"Only if you don't plan to come home in one piece, I would suggest," warned Fish.

"Are you guys talking about me?" queried Astrid, coming up behind Hiccup, one hand landing briefly on his shoulder.

"Only saying how wonderful a passenger you were today," teased Hiccup. "For your first ever flight with me!"

"Yeah, right! I buy that about as much as I buy Snotlout being a ladies man," snorted Astrid.

"Well, at least you didn't barf up your lunch, like some do," he returned.

"Eww! Did you have to say that? I just had my second dinner not long ago," said Fish in disgust.

"Sorry Fish."

Astrid was about to give a retort when Ruff walked over and whispered loudly in her ear, "Hey! Look who just walked in the door? Mr Muscles himself. What d'ya reckon?"

Astrid turned out of curiosity, and watched as Eret walked in. He was from New Zealand, and about as tall as Hiccup, but where Hiccup was fairly slender, this man was _loaded_ with muscles on his muscles! He was quite good looking too.

"Isn't he a personal fitness instructor at the gym?" she asked Ruff.

"Yeah, I _bumped_ into him at the shop the other day."

Astrid rolled her eyes. She knew how that went.

"So what's he doing here? He's a bit older than us, isn't he?" Astrid asked.

"The older man!" Ruff sighed, "He works at the Wildlife Sanctuary when he's not at the gym, and I kinda told him Hiccup has a pet wolf. He was really keen to meet Hiccup and Toothless, so I invited him here," admitted Ruff, with no sense of shame.

"You did _what?_ " Astrid hissed at her. "You _know_ how Hiccup feels about Toothless and strangers!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Miss Bodyguard! Hiccup doesn't have to talk to him! I'll just bat my eyelashes and he'll forget all about that silly old wolf," sniggered Ruff, as she slipped over to Eret.

"Hi Eret!" Ruff gushed all over him, grabbing a hold of the huge bicep belonging to the buff man.

"My! Aren't you huge! I'm glad you came to my party," she fluttered at him.

Eret appeared a little disgusted and tried to slide his arm out from under her grip.

"Huh? It's my party too, you know! We are twins, duh!" interrupted Tuff from behind her, prompting a heavy scowl from Ruff.

Sensing a fight, the newcomer quickly interrupted, "I only came over because you said Hiccup would be here," said Eret, pulling back from the two. "Isn't he here?"

"Yeah, he's around somewhere," Ruff waved her hand vaguely around the room, ignoring her brother. "But I'm sure there's something _much_ more interesting for us to talk about," she simpered at him, reattaching herself to his upper arm determinedly and stroking it. "Like you and me. Why don't we locate a beer for you and find somewhere _cosy_ to talk." She put on her best 'come hither' look to inspire him.

He resolutely disengaged himself from her clasping fingertips with an expression of revulsion. "I really only came to see Hiccup. If he's not free, then I need to leave," he told her firmly.

Ruff sighed, " _Fine!_ He's over here."

She called out, "Hey Hiccup! Come over here, will ya?"

Hiccup looked up from his conversation with Fish, surprised. He had noticed Eret when he came in but figured Ruff was probably chasing him. So he didn't know why he was being summoned over,… or why Astrid was frowning about it.

"Yeah, Ruff! Whatcha want?"

Ruff set up the introductions without any enthusiasm, "Hiccup, Eret. Eret, Hiccup. Eret works at the Wildlife Sanctuary and wanted to meet you and Toothless. Happy now?" she moaned at Eret.

Hiccup was a little cautious, as he respectfully shook the bigger man's hand. He could see Astrid was upset about this arrangement, not attempting to hide her displeasure. He wondered briefly what she was concerned about.

Eret was keen to take up the opportunity. "Well, it's nice to meet you at last, Hiccup. May I call you Hiccup?"

Hiccup gave a small nod.

"I've heard a lot about you and Toothless, and the work you have done with him. It's amazing that you managed to convince such a wild creature to become your pet," he gushed.

"Toothless is not a pet, he's my friend," corrected Hiccup.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend. I mean, I love working with wildlife, but it's not often I get the chance to be up close and personal with a black wolf! That must be amazing! Man! How did you do it?"

"A lot of patience and trust. Plus he was still young at the time, with an injured foot. So he needed me to look after him. He was smart enough to work that out, and we became friends," said Hiccup simply.

"Do you think it would be possible to meet Toothless?" Eret requested.

Astrid spoke up with a snarl, "Toothless is not a freak show, to be dragged out when anyone wants to touch him!" Hiccup _was_ surprised. Now he knew what the problem was. She was being protective over the wolf. Hiccup had a feeling that Ruff had used Toothless popularity _again_ to bring some fresh men into her life.

Eret put his hand on his chest, and regarded Astrid sincerely, "Please forgive me. That wasn't my intention at all. I apologize if I have offended you."

Astrid's face softened a little, but she still eyed him warily. Hiccup had been taken aback by her reaction, but it gave him a warm glow, to think that she was prepared to stand up like that for Toothless...and him.

Eret had ended up staying with them, talking about different subjects. Apart from his fascination with wildlife, although he discreetly avoided talking about wolves, it turned out that he was also quite keen on fitness, and was fascinated by how muscles worked. This was also one of Astrid's favourite subjects, and she soon found herself warming up to him. It turned out that Eret really was a nice guy, although he still wasn't keen on Ruffnut's advances. Astrid even laughed at his jokes.

Hiccup watched Eret and Astrid talk and laugh, and he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He'd never seen her enjoy someone's company so much as she did Eret's, and who could blame her? Eret was smart, funny and had muscles the size of cannonballs. He was obviously a caring type of person who would make any woman feel special. Hiccup just felt more and more like a skinny weed, the longer the night went on.

He watched her closely, the way she looked into the other man's eyes and hung onto his every word, the way she leaned in slightly towards him, listening with interest to what he had to say. She glanced at Hiccup every now and again, to find him staring at her. She quirked an eyebrow at him with an 'All okay?' gesture. He just gave her a quick smile back and turned away.

A song came on that caught Eret's attention, and he sat up straighter. He turned to Astrid and asked, "Would you mind giving me the honour of having this dance with you? This is my favourite song." She blushed slightly, and glanced over at Hiccup. He just waved his hand towards the dance floor and gave her a non-committal twinge with his lips which was supposed to pass for a smile. So she stood up, taking Eret's hand, letting him lead her out to the dance floor. He held her close as he put one hand on her waist and held her other hand in the air, leading her around the floor. Turned out he was a good dancer as well.

Hiccup couldn't stand it anymore. Watching the love of his life being wooed by another man, a _better_ man than him, was more than he could handle. His face crumpled up in pain as he stared at the floor, wondering what he should do. Just then he heard Astrid's words as the two circled close by, "We're just good friends." That was Hiccup's final undoing. He quickly stood up and went outside to the verandah, trying to find a way to _breathe._ He felt like his heart had shattered into a million pieces and every single piece was stabbing him all over.

He had always said to himself, that he would never get in her way if she chose another over him. And he didn't intend to change that now. He heard footsteps behind him, "Hiccup? Are you okay?" asked Fishlegs.

Hiccup gripped harder onto the railing, and replied through gritted teeth. "Fine, just fine,"

"That's a lie, and you know it," the bigger man called him out. "Eret's in there dancing with Astrid, and you're out here falling apart," he was quite astute in his observations.

"Why don't you stop him? Go take her back?" asked Fishlegs.

Hiccup gave a frustrated groan and forced himself to answer, "Why would I do that Fish? She has never professed any love for me, why would I want to force myself on her? If she wants to love another, who am I to stop her?"

"But you two _belong_ together. Everyone knows that," Fish exclaimed.

Hiccup glowered pointedly back into the room, "Not everyone," he finished grimly.

Astrid was dancing with Eret, and she was surprised at how good a dancer he was. Despite his _very_ solid build,..Astrid lightly tapped the muscle underneath her fingers…he was also very adept on his feet. After her initial reaction to his request to meet Toothless, she had surprised herself when she found herself warming up to him. It was interesting to meet someone who shared her enthusiasm and passion in muscle physiology and how to manipulate them to increase performance on the sports field. Hiccup understood of course, but didn't really share her fascination with the topic.

So Astrid had found herself drawing in closer to this person with a like-minded approach to the subject, appreciating that his work as a personal fitness instructor meant applying his knowledge, but tailoring it to fit individual people with different motivations. She found it fascinating as he described to her some of the successes and failures that he had in his job. She was sure she could learn a lot from him, with his real world experiences.

But right now, she wasn't really listening to him, instead she was furtively searching for Hiccup. She was really worried. She'd noticed him staring at her earlier, but every time she tried to catch his eye, he had shied away. When Eret had asked for a dance, she had questioned Hiccup about it with her eyes, and he had given his unspoken approval, but Hiccup's face had gotten darker the longer she danced with Eret.

What was wrong? At one point Eret had asked if she and Hiccup were in a relationship and she had answered automatically, "Just good friends." But her thoughts had drifted back to the moment earlier that day when she had slipped out of the plane, and he had held her close. She wondered what he would have done if Gobber hadn't interrupted them.

And now he had disappeared. Where was he? A movement outside the door caught her eye. She saw Fishlegs broad back shift across, revealing Hiccup on the other side of him. He seemed to be upset and was saying something to Fish. Astrid didn't stop to think, she excused herself from a confused Eret mid-dance, and negotiated her way over to Hiccup.

"Hiccup! Are you okay? What's the matter?" she asked him, worry in her eyes.

He refused to look at her, to give his feelings away to her. "Nothing," he lied. "Must have had a bigger day than I realised."

"Is it your leg? Is it hurting? Do you want me to massage it for you?" she worried, placing her hand on his arm.

"No, it's okay. Maybe I'll…maybe I just need to go to bed and get some rest. I …I think I'd better get home. Why don't you stay here for a bit longer? I'm sure someone will be able to take you home, okay?"

Eret had followed Astrid, and was standing behind her, "I can take you home Astrid. I don't mind."

"See?" said Hiccup, "It's all sorted. Eret can take you home and I can get some rest. I'll….I'll see you in the morning, okay?" he spoke to her, but didn't wait for an answer. He patted her shoulder to reassure her and left for the front door. She followed him and called out, "You sure you're okay?" He just waved his hand backwards at her as he walked out the door.

Astrid watched Hiccup put his jacket and helmet on before he brought the lumbering black and chrome beast to life with a ferocious roar. She felt troubled. He'd never been this way before. She didn't understand what the matter was.

Eret was standing next to her. "You sure you two are just friends?" he asked.

Astrid said softly to the disappearing taillights, "He's my very best friend."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to those who are following this story. It will be a long one and will eventually get a lot darker the further we get into it. Hopefully you'll be with me till the end. Any suggestions for improvements are always welcomed. Just be nice about it, please...**

Astrid used her key to open the front door. She didn't bother to knock as she had been coming to this house for so many years now, that she was practically one of the family.

A large black furry mass came racing towards her. "Toothless! How are you?" she said, as the black wolf excitedly greeted her. "I'm guessing Hiccup's already gone to work, hey Toothless?" she spoke to him as she gave him a double handed rub. "Is that the spot, huh? Does that feel good?" He licked his lips, evidence he was in doggy heaven.

She thought she'd better check anyway, "Hiccup?" Only the silence answered her.

"Okay, boy, let's go!" Astrid grabbed his harness and lead, and out the door they went.

They headed down the street towards the forest entrance. Walking at a fast pace down the well-worn paths, she kept Toothless on the lead until they had reached a more secluded part within the forest, where the chances of meeting up with anyone else or any other canines were much more remote.

Finally, when she was satisfied there was no one else around, she unclipped his lead and laughed as Toothless took off down the path, keen to stretch his legs. She pulled out her ipod, and stuck the earbuds in her ears, and proceeded to jog along the path after the wolf. She giggled to herself when Toothless came racing past her, did a 180 in the dirt and raced back out in front of her again.

"Boy, Toothless! It really has been a while for you, hasn't it?"

Astrid jogged along, music filling her ears, and her thoughts went back to Hiccup. She didn't understand what had happened last night. They usually talked about everything, but she never got that chance. She was worried about him and hoped he was okay. He seemed to be fine until she had started talking to Eret. It was almost like he was _jealous_? But of what? Eret was a nice enough guy, and Ruff sure thought he looked hot, but she wasn't _interested_ in him at all. She liked her men a little more on the skinnier side. Although come to think of it, she'd never had a boyfriend before, or even anyone she could think of as an option. Hiccup had always been with her, she preferred his company over any other _boys_.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't notice someone fast approaching behind her on the track until it was too late.

Finally a voice with an accent boomed beside her, "Hello Astrid. Mind if I jog with you?"

She was so surprised that she stumbled, and would have fallen if his strong arms hadn't reached out to grab her.

"There now! Sorry to startle you. Didn't think you would fall for me so quickly!" he tried to make a joke, holding her a little longer than necessary.

Astrid panicked, her eyes wide, searching for something behind him. "Get back from me!" she hissed, escaping from his grip.

Eret was a little shocked. "Here! I'm not going to harm you," he said worriedly, backing up a little. "I saw you going for a jog, and I thought you might like some company."

He was a little confused as she had seemed so friendly last night, even when she had refused his offer to take her home. Fishlegs had driven her home instead.

"I'm not alone, you idiot! And if he sees you too close to me, he'll try to hurt you!"

Eret was really shocked now. "Hiccup? Why? Is he some kind of psychopath?" He wasn't really worried, he'd seen Hiccup last night. The man didn't look like he had any kind of chance up against the solid wall of muscle that Eret was.

"Not Hiccup! Toothless!" she hissed back.

Eret was instantly more alert now. "Toothless? But he's just a pet, isn't he?" he said, looking around. He understood about wild wolves. But he felt that tame wolves were probably just the same as pet dogs.

"Are you dense? Didn't you hear Hiccup say he wasn't a pet? He's still a wild wolf, he just chooses to be friends with Hiccup….and me."

 _Now_ the man started to get a little nervous. He backed up a little further, but it was too late. A low growl sounded behind him and he froze in his tracks. He turned around slowly and came face to face with a snarling beast, his lip curled up to show all those _very_ sharp canine teeth. Fear spread over Eret's face, and he whispered, "Uh? Astrid? What do I do now?"

"Don't move would be a good suggestion," she replied confidently with her normal voice. "You got too close, and now he thinks you're a threat to me," said Astrid, giving Toothless the signal to stay on the alert.

"I'm…I'm sorry? I was just trying to be friendly. I didn't realise you had your own personal bodyguard," stuttered Eret.

"Hmm," said Astrid, thinking. She decided to give the guy a break and gave Toothless the signal to stand down. The wolf immediately sat down, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, seemingly quite dopey.

"Uh…is it safe to move now?" Eret queried, not sure if he even could. His morning was turning out the complete opposite of where he thought it would be. He'd seen the beautiful blonde woman jogging in the forest, and thought it would be nice to get to know her a little better, seeing as they had hit it off so well last night. He certainly didn't think he'd be on the receiving end of a wolf's vicious territorial warning snarl.

"Sure," Astrid shrugged nonchalantly, "Just don't try anything funny and you'll be fine."

"Phew!" Eret blew out a sigh, trying to relax now he knew the wolf wasn't going to eat him. "I was just going to see if I could go for a jog with you, then maybe ask if you wanted a coffee with me," he admitted, still a little terrified.

Astrid grinned, "Didn't think you'd run into ol' Toothless here, now did you?" she teased.

"No, no I did not!" he said, shaking his head carefully. "But I thought Toothless belonged to Hiccup?"

"Well, as I told you last night, Hiccup is my best friend. Has been since we were fourteen. So Toothless just accepts me as part of his pack," she said simply.

"Uh, is there anybody else that's part of this pack?" he questioned warily.

"Yeah, sure. Fish, Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff. You met them all last night, remember?" she ticked them off her fingers as she went. She turned to start jogging again and Eret quickly followed, keeping pace and maintaining a wary eye on Toothless, who was following close behind them.

"Nobody else? No one…special?" he queried again.

"What? You mean like a boyfriend? No, I don't have one of those," Astrid answered. A picture of Hiccup jumped unbidden into her mind when she said the word 'boyfriend'. A small butterfly turned over in her tummy. She chose to ignore it.

Eret seemed relieved. "Well, in that case, would you care to join me at the Burger House for a coffee?"

She considered him for a moment, wondering what his intentions were. She decided that she would be friendly and have a drink with him. He was a nice guy after all.

They continued through the forest until they arrived back at the starting point. Opposite the forest entrance was a café, the Burger House. Astrid and Hiccup had been there plenty of times before. The staff were familiar with Toothless, and she wanted to keep him beside her. Eret didn't seem to be much of a threat, but it was nice to have Toothless as back up. Just in case.

-oOo-

Hiccup had to drive the work truck into town to pick up some items that Gobber wanted. He drove past the forest where Astrid and he usually took Toothless for a walk, wondering if he would see her this morning. He decided he'd been a little hasty in his assumptions last night and he wanted to apologize for leaving her last night. It had not been a good thing to run out on her like that.

He scanned the forest path's starting point as he drove, checking for a familiar black wolf shape and a blonde woman, but couldn't see anything. Something caught his eye further up the road though, and he glanced over in time to see Astrid and Toothless enter into the Burger House, followed closely by a large muscled man.

Eret.

Hiccup felt like he'd been punched in the stomach again, and he had to pull over quickly to regain control of himself, his breathing and his heartbeat both highly erratic.

Hiccup didn't know what he was supposed to do. He'd said he would never get in her way if she wanted another man, but he had severely underestimated how much it was going to hurt. If he was going to react like this every time she just _spoke_ to another man, how would he be if she actually started _dating_? He had to work out another plan, urgently. But what? He didn't know yet.

Hiccup put the truck in gear, and slowly drove off, watching the Burger House in his rear vision mirror. For what, he didn't know. Maybe he was hoping to see her walk back out by herself? She had told him she would come over and keep him company this afternoon while he studied. He didn't know if she would keep her promise or not, but he felt that he had better sort out a plan before then.

-oOo-

Astrid checked her watch for the umpteenth time that morning, trying to be discreet about it. She had agreed to come in with Eret for a drink but that had been a while ago now. Toothless was sleeping under the table at her feet and Eret was still talking. It had been nice to share similar interests with someone and he certainly was interesting, but he also thought a little too highly of himself, and it was beginning to grate.

Her thoughts turned to Hiccup and how humble he was. He never went round broadcasting his achievements, and always brushed off praise preferring to highlight others deeds instead. Well…except for yesterday. She smiled to herself as she thought about their conversations from the day before. She dragged her mind back to the present, to Eret sitting in front of her.

She'd had enough of their conversation for now, and needed to get back home. She wanted to see Hiccup this afternoon and see if he was any better. She had promised to come around and keep him company while he studied, but she had to do some things for her parents first, and Eret was starting to take up her time.

"Am I keeping you from something?" he finally noticed.

Astrid blushed guilty. "Ah, yes actually. I need to take Toothless home plus I have to do a few things for my parents. Look, it's been lovely talking with you and all, but I really have to go."

"Oh! Okay. Do you think I could meet up with you again another time? Maybe for dinner?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure, maybe," she said without really thinking about it. She rose up from her seat and called to the wolf at her feet. "Toothless, let's go." Toothless jumped up from under the table, and waited for her to clip the lead onto his harness, staring back at her with a look that said, ' _finally!_ '

"Yeah, yeah!" she grumbled at him, "You don't have to give me that look!"

She turned back to Eret, "Bye!"

"Bye!"

Astrid left through the doors, then paused for a moment outside to take in a deep breath. "Whew! Let that go on for a bit too long, I think! Come on Toothless, let's go!"

He gave her a doggy grin, with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

The pair took off, jogging down the road back to Hiccup's house.

-oOo-

It was mid-afternoon, when Astrid approached Hiccup's door again. She paused for a moment, with her key in her hand, and her uni bag over her shoulder. Should she knock first? Should she go straight in as normal? She wasn't sure. They had never been down this road before.

She decided to go in as normal. She could hear Toothless on the other side of the door anyway. He'd already heard her and was scratching at the door, waiting for her to come in. She couldn't suddenly change things. That would look weird.

She entered, giving Toothless the welcome he was expecting, at the same time scanning for Hiccup. She soon found him. He was walking towards her with a surprised look.

"Oh! I wondered who was at the door. You took a while coming in. Did you drop your key?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah, something like that. Are you okay, Hiccup?" she asked bluntly, dropping her bag on the floor, concern written on her face.

He flushed, embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Yeah, about that. Look, I'm sorry I ran off on you like that," he apologized. "I thought about it later and it was a pretty lousy thing to do." Hiccup sighed.

"Yeah, it was," she agreed. "But what was the problem? Was your leg hurting you?" she asked again. She led the way into the kitchen and grabbed a can of soda for both of them before sitting at the kitchen bench. This was one of their favourite places to talk. He sat down opposite her and opened the drink she handed to him.

"Actually no," he admitted. He knew he had to tell her something. They'd always made sure they told the truth to each other. No lies.

"Then, what was it?" she asked softly. "Tell me the truth please."

"It's a bit embarrassing," he couldn't meet her eyes.

"Hiccup, you should know by now, I will never judge you. Please tell me," she begged quietly.

"Well….." he tried to think of a way to tell her what happened without exposing his true feelings for her.

"Hiccup?"

"Okay. I guess I saw you and Eret hit it off really well last night, and I was a little ….jealous. I'm not used to sharing you with anyone else. In my head, I saw you getting into a relationship with him and leaving me behind," he finally admitted, completely embarrassed. He couldn't look her in the eye, and instead stared down at his drink, nervously fidgeting with the can. He didn't know how she was going to react to that news.

He heard her suck her breath in.

"You were _jealous?_ Of Eret?"

Astrid was shocked. She had only just met the guy! And this morning hadn't exactly endeared him to her. Of course, she'd never had a boyfriend before. And Hiccup had never had a girlfriend before. But she certainly had not been short of admirers. Heck, Snotlout hit on her every week! But Hiccup had never reacted like this before.

He muttered quietly, and Astrid had to strain to hear his words.

"Yeah…well…It seemed like you were right into him. I mean ….he's a personal fitness instructor! You share the same interests. He's got muscles on his muscles! What girl wouldn't want that!"

She huffed at him, "I prefer what's on the _inside_ , before I look at the outside! I'm not like Ruff!"

Despite himself, Hiccup snorted at the mention of the flaxen haired girl, who was notorious for searching out 'eye candy', men who were a bit more 'buff' than normal.

Astrid continued, "Besides…if I was like that, I wouldn't hang out with _you_ so much, would I?" They _were_ close friends, and spent a lot of time together. A _lot_ of time. But they also spent a lot of time apart with other people. He'd never had a problem like this before, right?

Hiccup frowned at her, "Thanks for that huge boost to my ego."

"There's nothing wrong with your physique," she admitted, perhaps a little shyly. "In your own way, you are quite handsome… But we are friends on a much deeper level than just appearances. You should know that by now!"

Hiccup nodded to himself. He did know that, and he was sorry he had insinuated that Astrid was perhaps as shallow as Ruff. Besides, he couldn't help but feel a little chuffed that she had called him handsome.

"Yeah, I do. I'm sorry about that. I guess I just felt a little…left out…and I went and had a total tantrum over it." The wave of remorse rode over him again, and he groaned, dropping his head onto the table in embarrassment.

Astrid thought about it a little more. Eret _did_ manage to monopolize her last night. She didn't blame Hiccup for feeling a little left out. What if it had been the other way around? An attractive girl taking over Hiccup's attention? Astrid felt a pang in her gut straight away. They were just so used to being in each other's company, that to be separated would be painful.

"Hiccup, it's okay," she said quietly. "I understand. Truly I do." She reached out to cover his hand with her own, silently begging him to look up at her. He did.

"I…I probably would have done something similar if I'd been in your shoes."

Hiccup was a little stunned. He hadn't thought about it like that. She'd always been protective of him at uni when he'd received unwanted attention of the female kind. Girls seemed to notice him, and it often made him feel uncomfortable. Astrid would usually glare at them or do something that would stop them in their tracks.

She'd had plenty of male attention before as well, but she usually rejected their advances, so he'd never been too concerned before. But this had been different. Eret seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. And she had been quite happy to spend time with him.

He gave her a small smile, "Thank you. Next time I won't make such a drama out of it."

"Next time?" she frowned. "Just promise me something, Hiccup."

"Anything," he said happily.

"If you're uncomfortable, just let me know. Okay?"

"No! I'm not going to let you turn down a good time with someone just because I get a little needy," he said vehemently, shaking his head.

Astrid laughed.

"Then at least let me decide for myself whether I like the guy first, okay?" she smiled casually at him. "I don't want you marrying me off to every bloke who talks to me!"

"Sure! That I can do!" he grinned back. He was relieved. Apologies done, and he hadn't revealed his true feelings. Bullet dodged. "So, how did you get home last night?" he wanted to know. "Did Eret drive you?"

She stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

" _No!_ I'm not in the habit of getting into the car with someone I've only just met!" she exclaimed. "He could be a psychotic mass-murderer for all I know. And thank you very much for dumping me right into his wicked scheme!" she said with force.

Hiccup grimaced. He really had blown it last night, hadn't he?

"Okay, I'm sorry. I promise I won't do that again," he apologized sincerely.

"You better not! Next time, you won't be getting off so easy," she warned.

Hiccup cringed. He knew what that meant.

"Fishlegs was kind enough to take me home. For the record, he thinks you were a bit insane as well."

Hiccup made a mental note to thank Fishlegs later for taking Astrid home. And to apologize to him.

"Again, so sorry Astrid. But I thought Eret was a nice guy."

She snorted.

Hiccups eyes narrowed, "What?"

"I ran into him this morning when I took Toothless for a run. I didn't hear him and he ….surprised me." Astrid did not want to use the word 'scared'. She was not afraid of anyone.

Hiccup was wary. "What happened?"

"He didn't know Toothless was there, until he showed up with all those sharp teeth and ferocious growl!"

"That must have been quite a surprise for him," replied Hiccup, secretly pleased, but cautious. He was still waiting to hear what happened between then and the trip into the burger place.

She laughed a little. "Oh man! You should have seen his face when he heard Toothless growling at him! I thought he was going to pee himself!" she cackled without remorse.

Hiccup snorted. It seemed like she had enjoyed the other man's discomfit. And knowing Astrid the way he did, he was probably right.

"Well, you know me. I had to milk it, so I told Toothless to stay on guard."

Hiccup shook his head, he knew it would have been a frightening image, Toothless in full protection mode.

"But he didn't disgrace himself, so I gave him a break. He still had the nerve to ask me to have a coffee with him, so we ended up at the Burger House. You know, Toothless didn't seem to mind him, but he did keep himself between me and Eret the whole time."

 _Way to go Toothless!_ cheered Hiccup in his mind. He gazed lovingly over at the pile of black fur lounging on the floor. He'll have to get him a big juicy bone later.

"As for you trying to marry me off to the guy, you'll have to wait a little longer. Sure, he's nice and all, but he does seem to like himself just a _little_ too much! I mean, he called himself 'Eret, son of Eret' for goodness sake! That might work where he comes from where everyone _knows_ who Eret is, but not _here_!"

"Actually I do know who his father is. He runs a successful multi-national company on the Mainland."

"Oh!" replied Astrid, a little embarrassed. "Oh well, _I_ don't know him…..Anyway, you don't have to be jealous of him anymore. He's not the one for me," finished Astrid.

She thought to herself, ' _The one for me would have to be a lot like the one opposite me right now. And that's a hard act to follow.'_

Hiccup breathed out a sigh of relief. She hadn't gotten mad at him, she hadn't even teased him about it. He felt like he had just survived a very close call. He would have to learn to keep it together a lot better than that next time. _Next time._ His heart plummeted at the thought.

Astrid finished off her drink and went to stand up. "I don't know what you are still sitting there for. Aren't you supposed to be studying?"

Hiccup groaned and rolled his eyes, "The taskmaster is back!"

Astrid grinned. "You bet! Come on! Chop! Chop! Get your books out, mister! I'm not here to provide fascinating entertainment for you. You've got some serious study to do, and I intend to make sure you do it!"

Hiccup drained the last drop from his can before banging it on the bench. Astrid quickly grabbed it and threw it in the trash for him, along with her own. He grumbled, "You're worse than my father, do you know that?"

She grinned wickedly at him. "I'll take that as a compliment, thank you! But you still love me, I know you do." Something flashed across Hiccup's eyes that made her heart skip a beat. But then the Hiccup she knew was back, pretending to frown.

"If you two ever gang up against me, I'll be dead meat!"

She just laughed, then drummed her fingertips together. Dropping her head down, she turned her eyes up at him with an evil grin. "How do you know we haven't already?" she teased in a low voice, trying to sound mysterious.

He wryly glanced at her, "Then I'm _doomed!_ " He threw up his hands for emphasis.

She shoved him playfully towards the living room. "Just go already!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay! I have ummed, and arred for so long about whether to remove or leave in these next two chapters that I have confused myself. In the end I did a rewrite and decided to throw it in with both eyes shut tight and hope for the best. You are more than welcome to skip over them and go to the next ones after than, which shouldn't be too far away. This story will have four different sections. The first is Astrid and Hiccup getting their act together. But once they do...bam! That's when the trouble starts. Please hold on till then!**

The next morning, Astrid rocked up to the Haddock's front door again, ready to take Toothless for a walk. To her surprise, she found Hiccup _and_ Toothless waiting for her, sprawled out on the front doorstep enjoying some early morning sunshine.

"I thought you were supposed to be at work this morning?" she asked bluntly.

"And good morning to you too, Astrid. So nice to see you again," he drawled sarcastically.

Astrid refused to bite. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she questioned, her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. "Are you playing hookey or something?"

"Can't a man spend time with his two best friends without being under suspicion," he replied evasively.

"Not when it's you. What are you up too?" she asked suspiciously, crossing her arms in front of her, like a parent confronting a naughty child.

He responded airily, "Nothing sinister, I promise."

She raised her eyebrow again. He laughed, and raised his hands up in the air, surrendering to her interrogation.

"Okay! I give! I managed to get through some serious study yesterday…."

"...with my help…" she interrupted.

"With your help," he agreed. "Plus I had an emergency flight last night, so Gobber said I could have this morning off work to make up for it. But it was too nice a day to study, so I figured I'd come with you and Toothless. Can't let you have all the fun!" he grinned, his head tilted to one side, squinting up at her looming over him in the sunlight. Astrid noted with interest that he was very adorable in this position, like a cute puppy.

Her stance softened, and she put out her hand to help him up off the front step.

"Come on then, let's not waste the sunshine."

She reached out to grip his wrist, enjoying the feel of his larger, calloused hand over hers as she braced herself, ready to haul him up. As he pulled on her for leverage, she noted the sinewy muscles in his forearm and how his biceps bulged pleasantly. It was moments like this that reminded her that no matter what taunts Snotlout said about Hiccup being skinny, he was also packing plenty of muscle. Not the 'in-your-face kind', like Snotlout, but a much more subtle kind. She decided she liked the latter version much better.

"Phew! Hiccup, you must have put more muscle on, cause you sure feel heavy!" she exclaimed, after finding she had to put in a bit more effort than normal to help him up.

He gave her a cheeky grin as he dusted off the back of his shorts, causing the muscles across his shoulders to move in a tantalising way under his low cut singlet shirt. He also wore baggy shorts, his pale legs showing that he spent far too much time with them covered up. But not today. Running required shorts along with his carbon fibre running prosthetic.

He teased her, "If I don't keep fit, how could I keep up with you? _Then_ who would keep you company? Huh?"

She responded immediately, "Toothless of course!" she told him with a straight face.

"Oh, so you prefer the wolf's company over mine, do you?" he crossed his arms in an attempt to look offended. He failed.

"Oh for goodness sake! Let's go already!" she said exasperated. "You talk too much. At least Toothless and I would have been on the track by now," she hinted, none too subtly.

That shut him up.

"Okay, you win, let's go," he submitted.

" _Finally!_ By the way, you need to wear shorts more often. Your legs are blinding me," she told him, as Hiccup attached the lead to Toothless' harness and they stepped out at a fast pace.

"Oh har, har! Wear sunglasses and deal with it."

"You should! You've got nice legs, Hiccup. Don't worry about what other people think," she was earnest in her appeal, but blushed slightly when she realized what she had said.

"Nice legs, huh?" he peered at her sideways, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Of course you would pick up on that!" she threw her hands up in the air in embarrassment. She didn't really need to highlight the fact that she had been checking him out, and she was mortified at her slip up.

He just grinned and said nothing.

It didn't take long before they reached the entrance to the forest walking tracks. They chose their usual path, one of the longer and more reclusive trails. They liked it because of the challenge it provided, but also because the seclusion allowed them to let Toothless roam free without the fear of coming across anyone else. When other dog owners laid their eyes on the black wolf running towards them, it usually involved a very negative reaction. Something they preferred not to repeat too often.

Hiccup glanced over at Astrid as they stepped out into a slow jog, Toothless matching their pace by his side.

"So," he asked casually. "Do you think we might run into Eret again today?"

She gave him an odd look. "I thought we were over Eret. Unless _you_ want to date him? Besides if he sees me with Toothless _and_ you, he might just want to run the other way. I believe he was under the impression you and your brain may have parted company. And if you keep asking me about him, I might have to agree."

Hiccup spluttered, then coughed, "Uh, okay? I'll drop it."

"Good! Now step up the pace, you're slowing me down," she ordered, pulling ahead of him slightly.

"Yes, ma'am!" he mock saluted her, picking up speed so that he matched her again. He was glad that she so quickly squashed any discussion of Eret. It put his mind at ease that she seemed to have no lingering thoughts about the man.

The two were silent as they jogged side by side, their arms and legs pumping in a steady rhythm. There was something very satisfying about moving together like that. It also said a lot about how in tune they were with each other. Astrid liked that Hiccup had finally caught up with her in terms of fitness and endurance. She liked it a lot. It meant that he could challenge her as much as she challenged him. They could push each other's limits and she never had to hold back anymore for him to keep up. Plus exercising together just felt _good!_

They paused briefly to let Toothless off his lead when they were sure they had gone past all the regular traffic. Toothless showed them just how fast he was by pelting down the path in front of them at full speed, his long fur waving rapidly behind him. They laughed at his eagerness, then quickly got back on the trail themselves.

-oOo-

The pair had been running at a rapid pace for quite a while, a glossy sheen of sweat covering both of them. The sounds of their footsteps was subdued by the thick canopy overhead. The undergrowth was thin enough for them to enjoy the plants and the wildlife they came across.

Or the ones that Toothless flushed out anyway.

Said canine was currently charging back towards them, when he startled a fat pheasant out from its hiding place in the bushes in front of them. The sudden flapping of wings caused Toothless to veer off course, colliding with Astrid's legs and causing her to stumble directly into Hiccup, sending them both tumbling into the dirt on the side of the path.

Hiccup took the brunt of the fall, landing on his back with a painful groan, Astrid and Toothless piled over the top of him. The wolf scrambled to his feet first, pushing Astrid back onto Hiccup as she attempted to right herself. Hiccup groaned again as she accidentally hit him in several soft spots.

"Sorry, Hiccup!" she forced out between laboured breaths as she stood up.

She bent down to extend a hand to help him, but he just put his hand out in a ' _wait a second'_ gesture, as he collapsed back onto the ground, recovering from the shock of being upright and running one second, then horizontal on the ground with several bruises and plenty of pain in the next. He gasped for breath and groaned again.

"Did you get the number of the truck that hit us?" he asked in disbelief.

She giggled, "Yeah, I think it was 'W.O.L. .one.'" she said. The guilty party sat there with his head on the side, watching the two of them, as if to say, ' _Why are you on the ground?'_

"Come on, you're fine," she insisted, shaking her hand at him so he would hurry up and take it.

"Says you who had a soft landing…on me," he grumbled, sitting up.

"Always take your own personal airbag," she quipped, gulping in huge breaths.

He reached out to take hold of her outstretched hand, but as he did, a sudden jolt of pain shot through his left knee and he gasped out loud.

"You okay?" asked Astrid, frowning in concern.

He paused to take a few deep breaths till the pain subsided enough for him to form words again. He shook his head, "Not sure. I may have twisted my left knee," he told her, holding onto his leg.

"Can you walk on it, do you think?" she asked again, biting her lip in worry.

He shrugged as he looked up at her, "Don't know till I try."

"Okay," she said slowly. "Do you need help getting up?"

He thought for a moment, "Let me try first." He rolled over, pushing himself up on his good leg. Astrid had to hastily grab at him when he lost his balance and threatened to fall over again. He grunted, and gritted his teeth against the pain exploding in his knee, but he was finally up, leaning on Astrid's shoulders and breathing heavily, as she firmly wrapped her arm around his waist and braced herself to keep them both upright.

"Made it!" he told her with false cheer, his leg clearly bothering him.

Astrid was worried. They were a long way from any kind of help. And they had no phone reception out here.

"Come on, Hiccup. I want you to lean up against this tree, so I can check over your knee," she told him firmly.

"I don't think I'm in much of a position to fight you," he told her weakly, as he complied with her demands, reaching out to hold onto the closest branches.

She let her arm slide from around his waist, and focused on his now visibly swollen knee. She prodded it gently, looking up as she heard him gasp quietly.

"Sore?"

"No, I react this way all the time when beautiful women poke my knee," he jibed.

Astrid flushed slightly as she stood up and crossed her arms. "Well, at least the droll factor is still high," she told him flatly.

"Sorry, m'lady," he apologised sincerely. "Sarcasm levels tend to go up when pain is involved."

Her smile was grim as she contemplated what they were going to do. "Unfortunately, there will be a lot more of that before we get home," she told him morosely. "You need rest, ice and compression...none of which I can offer you."

He shifted his weight off the tree a little and started fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" she asked, frowning slightly.

He pulled on the hem, making a ripping sound. "I can make a rough bandage with my shirt. Would that be enough?"

She stared, fascinated as she watched him reduce the length of his shirt, till it hung jaggedly along his midriff, exposing his well-muscled abs. Astrid was torn between laughing at the absurdity of his shrunken shirt, or staring at his revealed stomach. She could almost feel herself drooling and she had to force herself to pull her gaze away from him and focus on the job at hand.

Astrid was feeling more and more unsettled about the thoughts she was having towards Hiccup. They had been friends for ages, and sure, he had become more handsome as he had matured, but that didn't explain all those treacherous _feelings_ she was developing about him. Sometimes she would find her thoughts taking her down paths she had never associated with Hiccup before. And it terrified her. Frightened that following those thoughts would cause her to lose her very best friend. And that was something she did _not_ want to do.

She forced herself back into the present, watching Hiccup wrap his impromptu 'bandage' into a ball. He turned to her curiously.

"Astrid? You okay?" he asked in concern.

She shook herself mentally, "Yeah..." she frowned, frustrated that she had allowed herself to be so distracted. "...thinking what to do," she lied.

He handed the torn length of material to her, "Will this be enough?" he asked again.

Taking it from him, she pretended to look critically at the small ball.

"It should be okay." She crouched in front of him and placed one knee on the ground, tentatively holding up the material and slowly wrapping it around his injury, shivering slightly every time she had to brush her arm up against his leg.

By the time she had finished and had tied off the end of the bandage with shaking fingers, she found that she was having a hard time just breathing. She hadn't realised that crouching so close in front of him, while getting up close and _very_ personal with his slightly hairy leg would be so wildly confronting.

Astrid looked up only to find that Hiccup had turned a deep red, and was purposely studying the trees beside him, to avoid catching her eye.

"Hiccup? Are you okay?"

"Uh...yeah...I...I mean...no...umm...That's...that's good, thank you. Makes it feel...uh...a bit better...I think," he stuttered. Which made Astrid blush with the realisation that their closeness had unsettled him as well.

She blinked a few times as she stood up, and tried to ignore her turbulent thoughts.

"Do you think you could try walking with it now?" she asked, attempting to slide an arm around his waist again, but hesitating when she noticed him becoming rigid at her touch. She waited a moment, until he seemed to come to a decision and he tentatively reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She gripped him firmly around his midriff, pushing her shoulder into his side as he gradually shifted his weight onto her and his sore leg.

"Take a step," she commanded, watching him closely as he stepped forward in trepidation. His hold on her shoulders suddenly tightened as he fought the shearing pain and bit into his lip.

"Take a moment," she reassured him gently, as he closed his eyes and blew the pain out through pursed lips, his face pale.

Astrid watched him like a hawk, wondering how they were going to get home. They were deep in the forest, where very few people ever ventured. It had taken them long enough to run here, it was going to take forever to slowly crawl out.

"We have to keep going," he told her, his voice trembling. "I don't want to be stuck here all night, waiting for someone to find us," he finished, finally daring to catch her eye again. She stared up at him. She could see the obvious pain he was trying so hard to conceal from her, but also determination.

"Unless..." he started. "Unless you leave me here..."

He didn't get a chance to finish as she shook her head vigorously at him. "Don't even say it," she warned.

"But Toothless could stay and..."

"And nothing, mister! I am _not_ leaving you! Get that into your thick skull right now!" she ordered in a stern voice, almost stabbing him with her finger to emphasize the point. "It would still be _hours_ before I could get help back here. Do you understand?" she told him forcefully.

"But..."

"No buts. I am _not_ leaving you!"

He stared at her for a few moments, then gave her a soft smile. "Thank you," he told her simply.

She nodded, "Good. Now let's get moving. We've got a long way to go."

"Yes, boss!"

"And don't forget it," she grumbled, as she resettled herself back under his arm, and his grip tightened around her shoulders.

"Okay? Ready to go?"

He sighed, "Let's get started. This is gonna hurt for both of us, I know."


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't know what the deal is, but I have been having trouble posting new chapters. Hopefully it all settles down soon, cause it's messing with me head...Anyway, hope this chapter stays put.**

Astrid stepped out carefully, taking Hiccup's full weight as he leaned on her. They initially staggered along the path, but soon developed a pattern of sorts. Which helped Astrid to know when to brace and when to relax.

Toothless trotted beside them, glancing up at Hiccup with a concerned look on his doggy snout.

"It's okay. Toothless. Just a bit sore, alright?"

The wolf flicked an ear at him, letting him know it was _not_ alright.

"Don't give me that! You were the one that started all this anyway," retaliated Hiccup as Astrid giggled, especially when Toothless stared back at them as if to say, ' _Excuse me? You're blaming me?'_

"You know, it was really the bird that flew out at him that caused this whole mess," she told Hiccup.

"So the mighty hunter and king of the forest, was frightened of a bird!" snorted Hiccup. "Some killer you are!"

Toothless flicked back another ear. ' _Whatever!'_

Astrid giggled again. "I think he just flipped you off!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Off course he did! What else would I expect from a wolf with attitude?"

Astrid giggled again and Hiccup glanced down at her under his shoulder.

"Thank you for this, Astrid. I mean it," he told her in all sincerity.

Her cheeks coloured under his praise as she told him, "Don't thank me. We haven't made it yet."

He nodded in agreement, as they focused on the path in front of them.

-oOo-

They had been walking for almost an hour and were sweating profusely from the effort required. Both were gritting their teeth as they continued to struggle. Hiccup's pain had intensified and he found himself putting more weight onto Astrid than he intended.

Toothless was also becoming an obstacle as he stayed close to Hiccup's side. Occasionally, the wolf was a little _too_ close and would brush up against him, making him stumble. Astrid would then grunt under the extra pressure, and quietly curse Toothless. She didn't have the extra energy to yell at the wolf. But she was planning a whole range of actions to show her displeasure at him once they reached home. Even though she knew he wasn't doing it out of spite.

At that moment, the path drew close to the edge of the river, where Hiccup noticed a log in front of a small tree. Hiccup indicated to it and suggested to Astrid, "How about we take a breather for a minute?"

"Sure," she gratefully replied. She didn't need to be asked twice. This was turning out harder than she expected, and they both knew they still had a long way to go. She helped him over to the log, then sank slowly down herself. They both leaned back against the tree, brushing up against each other's shoulders, but neither of them really cared, they were too exhausted. Toothless sat beside Hiccup, his jaw resting on the young man's leg. Hiccup absentmindedly placed his hand over the furry head and caressed the canine's ears.

Astrid closed her eyes and concentrated on taking deep, steadying breaths, letting her shoulders and leg muscles relax from the strain they had been under. But she knew Hiccup would be suffering much worse. She opened her eyes to observe him, wondering how he was managing. Hiccup was inclined to keep his pain to himself and never complained unless it was _really_ severe. But over time, she had developed the ability to work out how much pain he was actually suffering.

She checked him over now. His eyes were closed, and sweat was dripping down his face. He was frowning and his lips were compressed together thinly. His hands were clenched in his lap, so she knew it was pretty bad, but there was nothing she could do about it. She reached over to cover his hand with her own, and his pain-filled green eyes flew open to meet her caring blue ones.

"We'll be laughing about this tomorrow, don't worry," she smiled gently at him, trying to reassure him. "Just hang in there, okay?"

He gave her a tight smile. "We'll get there. Just might take a while," he acknowledged. "Got any reception on your phone yet?" he asked with no real hope. She checked anyway. "Nope, sorry," she informed him. At the slow rate they were going, it was going to be at least four or more hours before they managed to crawl back out.

Astrid encouraged Hiccup to take a drink of water. He was so dry he no longer felt thirsty, and that worried her. They needed to drink plenty, especially with the amount of sweating they were doing. There was a river beside them at the moment, but they would soon lose sight of that. Astrid decided to refill their water bottles while she could.

"Give me your bottle and I'll refill it from the stream," she directed. He leaned forward to shrug the camelback off his shoulders and handed it over without a word. She got up to search for a suitable spot to access the water. Finding one, she crouched down to carefully slide down the bank. It was pretty steep and she didn't fancy having to pull herself back up if she fell in.

Anchoring herself onto an exposed tree root, Astrid carefully refilled both bottles before climbing back out. As she did, a mischievous thought overcame her. She walked over to Hiccup, who still had his eyes closed leaning against the tree, and stood beside him. Loosening the lid of the camel pack in her hand, she slowly tipped it up and splashed the cold water over Hiccup's face and head, sending a stream of icy cold water over him, and making the wolf pull back in fright.

Hiccup immediately gasped and sat bolt upright when the shock of the water hit his skin. He developed instant goose bumps, and it took him a moment to register where the water was coming from. But he soon found the cause, a grinning Astrid standing beside him with an upside down empty water bottle.

" _Astrid_!" was all he could manage, his soaked half shirt sticking to his chest, and his wet hair plastered against his skull and face.

She giggled at him, "You looked like you needed cooling off!" she teased, keeping just out of his reach as he attempted to swipe at her from his seated position.

"That was pure evil!" he complained, wringing the water out of what was left of his shirt. He shook his head to dry it out a little. She gasped as the cold droplets landed on her.

"That's what you get, you minx," he smirked. "Kicking a man while he's down!" but he was smiling as he said it.

She just grinned at him. "Yeah, but you're cooler now, aren't you?"

He had to admit, he was feeling a little more refreshed, even if the slight breeze over his cold skin was giving him goose bumps.

"Yeah, but don't think I'm going to let you get away with that!" he warned, shaking his finger at her. "When you least expect it, revenge will be mine," he rubbed his hands together and grinned in an 'evil professor' kind of way.

"Look at you now…plotting away! Well you're going to have to wait a little longer, Dr Evil. Because we are still stuck in this forest, in case you hadn't noticed."

That stopped him. His face turned serious again. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get moving!" he exclaimed.

"Let me refill this first, and then we can go," she turned to head back down to the water to refill the bottle she had emptied over Hiccup. Hanging onto the tree root again with one hand, she refilled the bottle with the clear, sweet stream water. She closed the lid, before twisting in her spot to turn and climb back up the river bank. She had almost made it to the top, when her foot slipped and she slid back down, scrambling to grab something, anything. She managed to precariously take hold of a tree root with one hand, the other swinging wildly over the river, hanging onto the bottle.

"Astrid!" Hiccup called out frantically, seeing her predicament. Her centre of balance was swaying heavily towards the river, and she couldn't swing herself back towards the bank. Hiccup tried to jump up, but his swollen knee screamed against the sudden movement. The pain overwhelmed his senses and made him forget everything else for a moment.

He forced himself to get up again. This time he took it carefully. He kept checking on Astrid who was still swinging over the river, her grip on the tree root starting to slip. She was still hanging in there, but her teeth were clamped tight together as she tried to find a way to swing back into the bank.

Hiccup stumbled over and fell against a tree that was jutting out over the river. He leaned against it, and stretched out his hand towards Astrid.

She wasn't in any position to grab it, so Hiccup grasped her upper arm instead, and pulled. That slight movement was enough, and she was able to swing around and secure her grip on the tree root. Once there, she could climb the bank again, with Hiccup pulling her towards him. Finally she stood at the top, her hands now reaching towards Hiccup to help him up into a standing position.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… You?" she replied, snaking her arm around his waist and forcing his arm over her shoulder.

'I'm good," he answered. "That could have ended up badly!" he breathed out a sigh of relief. Falling in the creek would not have been totally hazardous to their health, but it certainly would have caused a few problems. He was still quite wobbly on his feet and was grateful for the extra support she had given, albeit unceremoniously.

"Then let's go."

Hiccup tried to step forward, away from the river, but snagged his prosthetic. The movement caused his knee to seize up in protest at the sudden jolt, and Hiccup almost doubled over as the pain shot straight through him. Astrid then stumbled, being unexpectedly pulled along in his direction. Unfortunately, this little chain reaction was enough to unbalance both of them, and before they could do anything about it they were both falling….straight into the river.

They fell sideways into the icy water with a tremendous splash, the cool temperature shocking both of them as they struggled to fight their way to the surface, breaking out of the water with a huge gasp of air. The water was too deep, the current too strong, and they were being relentlessly washed downstream. Toothless whined as he ran along the creek edge, following them.

"Astrid! Grab my hand!" Hiccup yelled out to her.

The creek was rapidly pulling her away from him, so she struck out against the current to close the gap, finally grabbing his outstretched hand with a strong grip, refusing to be separated from him.

"Look for a shallow spot on the side," he yelled again.

Astrid didn't need to be told twice. She gasped, turning her attention to the shifting creek edge, keeping alert for a possible location for them to swim ashore.

They weren't sure how long they had been in the river. Maybe ten seconds. Maybe ten minutes. But eventually Astrid felt her feet hit the sandy floor, and she breathlessly cried out, "Here!" as she pulled him in with her.

Still holding hands, they waded closer to the steep bank in the chest deep water. But at least the pull of the stream was not so strong here. They remained clinging to each other, not willing to let go for a moment. It would take very little for one to lose their footing and be separated from the other. They had halted their downward spiral, but were nowhere near safe yet.

Hiccup took in a few gasping breaths as he peered around, evaluating what their chances were. The bank was much higher, and would take a lot more effort to drag themselves up through the mud and twisted tree roots. He scanned further down the river to see if they had any better chances down there. But it seemed the further downriver the creek went, the faster the water flowed, and the higher the bank became. Nope…this was their last chance.

He noticed Astrid was shivering, and her lips were turning blue in the frigid water. Her blonde hair was plastered to her skull as she pushed it out of her face with her free hand.

"What do you think? Is this the place to get out?" she questioned him shakily, eyeing off the high bank.

"It will have to be," he replied with more conviction than he felt. "It just gets worse further down river."

"Well, on that cheery note…." she muttered to herself, examining the bank more closely for handholds.

"You go first," Hiccup told her.

She turned her eyes back to him, wide eyed with concern, "No!" she cried. "You're the one with the injury! You need to get out first!"

Hiccup sighed, then reasoned with her calmly. "Astrid, this is a steep bank. You are going to have to go first, so you can help me out."

"Oh!" she bit her lip realising he made sense, and wondering why she hadn't seen it like that.

Toothless was hanging over the edge of the bank above them, whining and yipping at them. He kept dashing from side to side, anxious over his boy and his girl in the river. He knew they were in trouble, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Hiccup called up to reassure him, "It's okay Toothless. We're going to be out soon, I promise." He muttered quietly to himself, "I hope."

They drew closer to the bank, searching for a suitable place to start climbing. A fallen tree branch was lodged up against the bank, providing a handy foothold. Hiccup braced himself against it, and he supported Astrid as she grasped onto the branch, pulling herself out of the water. Her long braid flattened against her back, and her clothes stuck close to her skin, as the water flowed freely off her.

Hiccup watched carefully as she tested tree roots and rocks, pushing with her legs and using her arms to pull. He held her by the waist till she was almost high enough for him to let her go. She managed to gain another step or two higher, but suddenly slipped. Hiccup acted without thinking. He placed his hands under her backside and pushed. Astrid yelped and glanced down at him, surprise written all over her face. But Hiccup refused to let go, and with grim determination he pushed again until she had regained her grip, her shivering becoming more violent in the cool breeze.

Astrid was not able to reach any higher without leaving Hiccup behind, so she found a secure location to lock herself in, looping her arm around a tree root, and extending her other hand back towards him. He gripped her arm and pulled, the muscles tensing in his forearm as he grunted with the effort.

Surprisingly, the cool river seemed to have helped ease some of the pain in his leg. Or maybe it was the concern of being washed away that had distracted him, but as he climbed, he was again sharply reminded of why they were here, as his swollen knee spasmed with every movement.

He clung to Astrid's arm, and she tugged harder on his. Once he was mostly free from the river, he released his hold on her so Astrid could continue her climb for a few more steps. She reached back to grab the top of his arm and haul him up towards herself. Then he would keep her steady until she progressed a little higher. They kept this routine up until they reached the top of the bank, both now thoroughly exhausted.

Astrid pulled herself over the top first, with Hiccup close behind, rolling over the edge and collapsing amongst the dirt and the forest mulch without really caring, just grateful they had made it, deep breaths shaking their chests. Toothless was incredibly excited and attempted to lick both of their faces, his tail wagging wildly as he kept bouncing between the two of them. Neither had the energy to do anything except complain weakly against him and to try to bat him away.

But they had to get going, a fact that both of them knew and didn't need to say out loud. Their hair and their clothes were soaked in icy water, and the breeze had not left them alone since they had emerged from the river. They were both shivering relentlessly and needed to keep moving. They weren't sure where the trail was anymore, or how far down the river they had been dragged. Time had seemed to slow down to a snail's pace, every act so excruciatingly slow.

Astrid was the first to move, rolling over to face the man beside her. "C...c...come on, Hiccup," she stuttered through frozen lips. "Gotta k...keep moving."

"You're c...cold," he worried back, stretching his arm out towards her.

"So…so are you," she reminded him, doing her best to scowl at him while her teeth were chattering. She sat up cross legged.

Hiccup groaned and rolled over onto his side on the dirt, old leaves and twigs sticking to his damp skin and clothes.

"Now…now you look like some s…s…sort of forest troll," she giggled.

He flicked his eyes up towards her hair still slick from the water, and noted all the old leaves and moss caught in her blonde tresses.

He grinned faintly at her and pointed at her hair, "You…you do too!" he teased, despite the cold.

For a moment her eyes widened in horror and she pushed her hands through her hair, but then gave up and let them drop back down. She giggled at him, "M...m…maybe we could be a pair of blue smurfs! Y...you're blue enough for it!"

Hiccup snorted, "Smurfs wouldn't be l…lost in the forest now would they?"

Astrid giggled again, "Th...that's not even funny! So why am I laughing?"

He struggled to sit up and Astrid leaned over to help him up into a seating position, his sore leg extended off to one side. "You're pr...probably in shock, that's why. First sign of hypothermia."

"R...really?" she asked, squinting up at him.

"I have no idea," he admitted. "Sounded good though," he gave a half a smile.

Astrid rolled her eyes at him. "C…come on, professor…let's get you on your feet…before you tr…try any more 'signs of wisdom'," she mocked.

She stood up, then extended her hand back down to him. He latched on to her arm, biting his lip to stop himself yelling out, as he hauled himself into an upright position. She immediately placed herself under his arm again to stop him wobbling.

"It's really not that b…bad," he insisted at her, looking down at the top of her soaked head with its crown of forest floor mulch. "The c…cold seems to have helped it a bit."

"Yeah, it will help y…you catch pneumonia," she added wryly, adjusting her grip around his waist and dragging his arm a little further around her shoulder. "B...by the way, you make a great hot water bag."

"Anything I can do to be of service, ma'am," he pretended to tip a hat to her, putting his weight on his good leg, and shaking out the bad one slightly. The prosthetic was full of water, but there was not much he could do about it right now. He frowned at it. Attempting to walk with a soaking wet prosthetic, was not going to produce a healthy skin surface by the time they reached home.

"What about your phone?" he asked suddenly. "Did it survive the dunking?"

Astrid startled at the question, and she abruptly let go of his hand to pull the phone out of her pocket. She swore when she realised the screen was blank, holding it up to watch the drops of water trickle out of it.

"Oh no!" she moaned, "I was hoping we could contact someone to help us get home." She stared up at him in panic. "What are we going to do now? We don't know where we are, we don't have any supplies and we're f…f…freezing!" She shuddered as a soft breeze brushed over her, as if to emphasize the point.

Hiccup squeezed her closer to his side, trying to share what body heat he still had. He didn't say anything as he observed their surroundings carefully, but he was worried too. He narrowed his eyes, as he scouted the river upstream from where they had come from. They couldn't possibly have gone _too_ far down the river, now could they? Icy fingers gripped around his heart as he felt Astrid shaking beside him, her grip around his waist just as cold. The question remained, how _were_ they going to get out?

He silently pulled her around in front of him in an attempt to warm them both up, and she obediently shifted her arms to circle his waist and lay her cheek on his chest. She offered no resistance as she could feel the warmth from his core radiating towards her. She didn't care what the implications were, she wanted that warmth. She sighed lightly through another shiver. She could _feel_ him grinning in the shift of his muscles as he bent his head to brush up against the top of her hair. "Better?" he asked quietly.

"Well now I feel like I'm in the f...fridge instead of the freezer," she muttered back, more relaxed than she felt she ought to be. Listening to his heart beating in his chest was doing all kinds of interesting things to her insides.

"That's a start anyway," he chuckled.

He looked up to examine the forest around them. The brush was a little thicker along the bank, but further into the forest it was still clear. Hiccup thought he could recognize some landmarks. He pulled away from Astrid slightly, and she let him go reluctantly, feeling his warmth leave her and the cold come rushing in. It had been nice wrapped up in his arms, even if they were soaked and shivering. She would have loved the excuse to stay there a little longer, but also knew it was important they keep moving.

"I think we've gotten lucky," Hiccup whispered, staring over at a certain tree. "See that Y tree?" he pointed it out to her. Astrid immediately perked up. She did recognize it!

"That's where the path is, right?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I think so," he confirmed.

"Alrighty then," she was all business again, repositioning herself under his left arm again. "Let's get out of here!"

Hiccup sighed. He had been enjoying having the girl of his dreams wrapped up tight in his arms without being beaten up. Pity they were trying to keep themselves alive.

He stepped out with her, in the direction of their tree. It was actually a little further away than they first realised, but they finally reached it with a sigh of relief. "Back on track, hey?" Astrid asked him.

"Yep! Back on track," Hiccup happily confirmed. "Let's go this way! To the great beyond!" He held out his free arm, pointing towards the way out.

"To the great beyond," she repeated, grinning up at him from her position against his side.

Despite their soaked clothes, blue lips and plastered hair, they walked down the path with an extra spring in their step. They were moving in the right direction again, and their mood lifted, Toothless once again trotting by their side.

They pushed forward down the path, back to civilisation.

Hiccup was silent for a while, before he murmured into her ear, "Thank you for sticking with me, Astrid. I don't think I can repay you for all this."

Her lips formed into a grim line. "What's a near-death experience if you can't share it with your best friend, right?"

"You know, I don't think I could ever find another friend like you, Astrid. And I'm grateful for the day that you decided you wanted me to be a part of your life, when you could have chosen from all the other more suitable candidates out there." He was earnest and sincere in his praise. He truly didn't feel worthy of having Astrid by his side.

She peered up at him with conflicting emotions flashing through her mind.

"Hiccup, do you realise that I feel lucky that you chose _me!_ You have so much to offer, and yet you are willing to put yourself out for me any time of the day or night. It never seems to phase you if I'm in a bad mood or not, you just keep on looking out for me. If I could have all that time over again when we first met, I…I would never dare to change a single thing…." her voice faded away as she struggled with her emotions. She didn't feel she could truly express how she felt about him. She wasn't even sure she really _knew_ how she felt about him. She only truly understood one fact…she never wanted to leave his side.

Her words tumbled inside his head, and his stomach twisted over itself. He blindly stared at the ground in front of them, as he thought about the raw emotions that she had expressed to him. He never realised she felt that way about him, and it made his heart feel as light as a feather as it flipped in his chest, hammering a tune on his ribs. She _cared_ about him! Well, of course he always knew she cared about him as a friend, but this was much more than that. Maybe he had a chance after all! He almost felt like singing, but the pain in his leg and the cold breeze on his skin were enough to put a damper on that exercise. Plus, he would probably feel quite foolish singing right now.

Instead he squeezed her gently to him, brushed his cheek against the top of her head and whispered. "Thank you."

Astrid felt his whisper against her hair, and was surprised to find such a gentle word creating so much turmoil within her. Her knees shook slightly under her, and she needed to rearrange his arm over her shoulder to cover the fact. She thought about Eret, and how distraught Hiccup had been about the man becoming a part of her life over him. Astrid didn't think it was even possible for anyone else to have as much of an impact on her as much as Hiccup did. Their friendship was much too strong to be broken up by another. She thought about what it would be like if Hiccup found himself a girlfriend, but the pain that shot through her heart was so great, she forced herself to push that thought away. She had a lot to think about. But right now, he was here beside her, leaning on her, relying on her. And she was going to do all she could to support him.

The two of them forced themselves to keep going for as long as they could, before taking a rest break. It was already past midday, from what they could tell of the sun's position through the tree canopy. The exercise had warmed them up again, although their clothes were still damp. Hiccup's gait was becoming more and more erratic as the soaked skin on his stump eroded into an angry red sore, adding to his pain. His breathing was becoming more ragged as they proceeded, but he refused to slow down, shaking his head grimly at her every time she asked him to rest. He just wanted to get them both out of there, and that meant pushing through the pain.

He could recover later.

Astrid couldn't help becoming more and more concerned, but she knew they had to keep moving. Slowing down meant they could end up staying in the forest overnight. She just hoped that another jogger would pass by them soon, and they could get help.

Even Toothless, with all his usual energy, was slowing down. He kept laying down on the path ahead of them, waiting for them to catch up. His tongue lolled to the side as he glanced back at them. When they caught up, he would raise himself up on his four paws with an effort and trot off again, sticking close to Hiccup's side.

It was probably about mid-afternoon before they finally spotted someone. Another jogger was coming towards them, and they waved at him to catch his attention. To their surprise, he turned and shouted to somebody else behind him, "Found them! They're here!" From there on, it all seemed to happen very quickly. They found out a search party had been sent out to look for them, after Hiccup had failed to arrive at a lunch appointment with his dad, (that he had forgotten about). Stoick had been beside himself when none of their friends knew where they were, and Hiccup and Astrid had not answered their phones. Toothless had gone as well, so he supposed they must have been running, but they should have returned hours ago.

Hiccup and Astrid were both escorted out, assisted by many energetic hands, and they soon found themselves back at Hiccup's home. Thanking their rescuers and reassuring his father they were okay, Hiccup and Astrid took themselves to their own bathrooms and celebrated their rescue with a soaking hot shower each, blissfully stretching tired muscles under the soothing heat.

Astrid came out from her room with damp hair and a fresh change of shorts and shirt, searching for Hiccup. His twisted knee needed ice and rest, and his stump needed lotion and bandages. She was determined to pin him down to his bed, so that he could get the attention he required. She knew that he would probably try to brush it all off, but she wanted to undo as much of the damage done, as soon as possible.

She marched into his room with a bag of bandages and creams under her arm, and found him standing on his crutches, the prosthetic drying out in the corner.

"So where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"Uh? Outside?" he answered, gawping at her in surprise.

"Wrong answer! Bed for you. Now!" she insisted, pointing towards his bed.

He pretended to pout, knowing he held no hope of winning against a determined Astrid. "Yes, ma'am!" he told her and obediently tottered towards the bed, dropping down on the mattress with a groan. Astrid took the crutches from him and leaned them up against the opposite wall.

"Astrid! I'm gonna need those later!" he reminded her, waving his hands for her to bring them back.

"Not likely," she countered. "You will be resting that leg for a while yet, and you need to sleep. It's been a very long day."

He stifled a yawn. "Can't say I disagree with you there. But only if you stay here with me," he suggested, patting the bed beside him. "You need a sleep too, and if you stay here, I won't need to go searching for my crutches over there."

She hesitated, and he knew he had her in her own trap. He had spent the best part of the day with his arms around her, and he really didn't feel like giving that up just yet.

She nodded slowly, "Okay. Sounds like a deal. You let me treat your leg, and I'll stay here with you. For a rest. And you won't try to get out of bed, unless I say so. How's that?"

He grinned at her like a cat that had caught the rat. "Perfect, m'lady! Now where's that pampering you promised me?"

She snorted at him, but proceeded to apply salve and bandages to the raw skin on his stump, and an icepack to his knee. He lay down in the bed with a sigh, then patted the bed beside him. "Your turn, come on."

Astrid was really too tired to argue and the spot on the bed beside Hiccup appeared _very_ inviting. And the fact that Hiccup himself would be beside her, just added to the appeal. She sighed, and crawled into the bed, relishing the instant warmth radiating from him, her eyelids already starting to close.

She murmured sleepily to him, "You really do make a great hot water bottle, you know that?"

A few hours later, Stoick returned home. The house was silent so he set out to search for his son, stepping into the open door of Hiccup's bedroom. To his surprise he found the two of them, exhausted and sleeping soundly, curled around each other on the bed, with Toothless asleep on the floor beside them.

Stoick grinned softly to himself, turned out the light, and partially closed the door behind him.

Another step closer.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Hiccup and Astrid had woken very embarrassed and apologetic. Stoick had caused them to turn an even deeper shade of red when he had greeted them with his twinkling know-all gaze, and the suggestive wriggling of his eyebrows. ' _Just Friends!'_ Hiccup had desperately mouthed to him when he wouldn't stop with the shoulder nudges, (which nearly sent Hiccup flying off his crutches) and the not-so-hidden innuendoes all during breakfast.

Astrid had finished her food, then practically ran from the house, only pausing long enough to mutter _'Bye. Hope your leg is better soon',_ to Hiccup before she left. As soon as the front door had closed behind her, Hiccup had immediately turned on his father, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Great dad! Now I probably won't see her for the rest of my life!"

Stoick only laughed. "She'll be back! Wild elephants wouldn't keep her away!"

And of course, she had come back. Although she had been quite reserved and shy to start with. But it hadn't taken long before they were back to 'normal', although they had avoided talking too much about what had happened between them.

Two weekends later found them in Hiccup's soft top jeep, hurtling along the freeway with the top down. Astrid had her hair in a tight braid, but it was no match for the wind which mockingly picked out stray hairs and whipped them madly around her face. She turned to Hiccup to yell, "You're all about the wind in your face, aren't you? It's all about flying, no matter what vehicle you're in. I swear if Toothless was a dragon, you'd be flying all the time."

He grinned at her from the driver's seat. "You got me! A dragon sounds pretty cool too!"

He indicated to the Volvo behind them, being driven by Fishlegs. "You know, you could have jumped in with Fish if you wanted a less _hair-raising_ experience," he teased.

Astrid put her two hands out as if she were weighing something, "Safe…Exciting…safe…exciting. Nah! Exciting wins hands down for me!" she yelled back. It was a bit hard to have a conversation with the wind snatching her words away.

"Woo hoo!" yelled Tuff excitedly from the back seat, next to Toothless. He was pushing his face into the breeze just like his canine companion, his long blonde dreadlocks dancing wildly behind him. He even tried sticking his tongue out like a dog, but it had dried out pretty quick, so he pulled it back in again.

Snotlout was in the following Volvo with Fishlegs at the wheel and Ruffnut in the passenger seat. He had wanted to be in the jeep, but there was only room for one more after Astrid and Toothless. Snot had lost an arm wrestling competition to Tuff for the last seat, after Ruff had surprised him and kissed him on the cheek. He was still fuming over it.

Ruff only giggled at him. "Hey, you got to sit here with me didn't you? Plus when was the last time you got a kiss from a girl? So you won, right?"

Snotlout thought about it. Yeah, he did get kissed. So maybe he did win! He relaxed and sat back, ready to enjoy the trip.

They were headed for their favourite spot further up in the mountains. Hiccup often came up here with Toothless to indulge in his favourite hobby, animal photography. He had built a few hides out there and he liked to check them out occasionally to make sure they were still in working order. Astrid sometimes came with him, but every now and again the whole gang would come too.

They always had a great time, but it was always a noisy trip with the twins and Snotlout along. They did not have the word 'quiet' in their mentality. That just meant 'shout louder' to them.

They were planning to hike in, checking Hiccup's hides as they went, then camp at their favourite spot next to a crystal clear mountain stream before hiking back out the next day. They had been doing this since they were kids, and knew the area like the back of their own hands. Well...most of them did.

Eventually, the cars turned down the dirt side road that lead them to their walking trail. As Tuff choked and spat out the dust kicking into his face from the track, he realised that the back seat in a topless jeep was probably not the best place to be. When they pulled up, Tuff blinked the dust out of his eyes, and wiped it off his face before getting out to help Hiccup put the soft top back on and lock the car. The others helped unload the Volvo.

When everyone was ready, Hiccup picked up his backpack and threw it over his shoulders. "Ready?"

"Blah! Blah! Blah! Of course we're ready! Let's go!" shouted Snotlout, taking off in the wrong direction.

Hiccup shook his head, and silently took the lead down the correct path. Fishlegs called after Snot, "Uh, are you coming with us?"

Snotlout scanned around, realised he was going the wrong way, and quickly jumped back onto the correct path. "Yeah, I'm coming. Just testing to see if you knew where we were going, that's all. Congratulations! You passed!"

Astrid and Ruff were walking side by side. They rolled their eyes at Snotlout and giggled.

"I'm sure Snotlout would get lost in his own house if he didn't have a map at the front door," Astrid muttered to Ruff who sniggered. "I know, right!"

"I heard that!" retorted Snot. "I'll have you know the map is in the living room," he added triumphantly.

That just caused the girls to laugh harder. Tuff sniggered and Hiccup shook his head.

Fishlegs sighed and spoke to the canine walking beside him. "Can you make sure he doesn't get lost, _again,_ please Toothless? It took forever to find him last time." Toothless gave him his best tongue-lolling grin.

Hiccup called back to Snotlout, who was attempting to push his way towards the front of the group. "You know, if you actually paid attention to where we are going, instead of telling us about your 'fascinating physique' you wouldn't get lost so much." But his words fell on deaf ears, as Snot flexed his muscles and admired himself. He nearly collided with a low hanging branch, but a "Heads up!" from Hiccup warned him to duck just in time.

Tuff gave a disapproving grunt, as he had been waiting for the crash. Fishlegs sighed at the dreadlocked blonde, "I'm sure there will be another one."

Sure enough, moments later Ruff held onto a branch till she walked past, then let it go, catching Snot right in the gut.

"Oomph!" he grunted. "Hey! I saw that! You did that on purpose!" he scolded Ruff.

Ruff turned her not-so-innocent eyes on him, "Oh, were you right behind me? I'm sorry! _Not!_ "

She turned forward again and sniggered. The twins _loved_ to tease and make fun of Snotlout on their hiking trips. Really, you would think Snot would have learned after all these years, but _no_ …. his vanity and self-inflated ego kept him right out there as an easy target.

The walking track started off wide enough for two people - or one person and one wolf - but it quickly became single file only. The group settled into an easy walking pace, chatting and teasing each other along the way, only stopping to admire the view or to rescue Snotlout _again._

They fell into a natural order, with Hiccup up the front, and Fishlegs at the back. Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout were usually changing positions in the middle depending on what the twins were doing to Snot. Astrid always started at the rear, but then ended up towards the front with Hiccup. This hike would take a few hours, but they had plenty of time to enjoy it all.

Astrid caught up with Hiccup and happily walked behind him. She liked to keep tabs on his gait as they hiked. She was always concerned that his leg would start to bother him, and she wanted to pull him over as soon as she noticed him limping or favouring that leg. Especially as it had only just finished healing. But for now, he was doing just fine.

After an hour, they arrived at the first hide, high in a solid tree. It had small pieces of timber nailed to the side to act like a ladder, which led to a tiny platform hidden between the major branches. It was covered in a mixture of netting, twisted tree branches, and pieces of timber. One person could fit up there almost comfortably, two at a squeeze.

Hiccup took his bag off his shoulders and placed it on the ground. He opened up a few pockets to find the items he needed, some nails, rope and a hammer, then headed up the 'ladder'. Toothless whined and paced around the base of the tree, when his attempts to follow Hiccup upwards, failed. Hiccup reassured him, "It's okay, Toothless. I'll be fine. I just need to do some repairs and I'll be straight back down."

Astrid watched as Hiccup climb the side of the tree, anxious that he might slip. But he didn't. Her neck was starting to hurt from craning it so far backwards when he eventually disappeared inside the hide.

Suddenly he yelled, " _Watch out!_ " as a small bag of nails come tumbling down from the sky. Astrid leapt backwards and the bag landed on the ground in front of her with a 'thud'.

"Are you okay, Hiccup?" she called out.

"Yeah, I accidentally knocked the nails over the side," he yelled back. "Are _you_ okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, you missed me! You'll have to do better than that next time," she teased. He gave a chuckle.

She noticed his leg start to emerge from the hide to descend back down the tree. "Wait! I can bring these up to you," Astrid offered. She heard relief in his voice, "That would be great Astrid. Just watch the steps up, okay?"

"What? You think this is the first tree I've ever climbed?" she teased.

His voice came through the branches again, "If this was your first tree, you sure picked a doozy. This one is very tall and has a couple of rotten branches for steps. Please be careful, Astrid. I mean it."

She chuckled at his concern, "I'll be fine. I'll be up there in a jiffy."

"What's a jiffy?" he questioned.

Astrid put the bag of nails into her jeans pocket and started to climb.

"It's in between a 'heartbeat' and a 'tic'."

"Well, there's a new way of measuring time they never taught in school. Must have missed that subject," he drawled back at her.

She had gone about six feet up the tree, when she found the wobbly steps that Hiccup had been worried about. She took note of where they were so she wouldn't get surprised on the way back down. Half way up the tree, a voice called out from the ground. "Nice butt, Astrid!" She turned to glare back at the offender but Hiccup beat her to it. "Snotlout! Go find something else to do and stop staring."

Astrid giggled to herself at Hiccup defending her. She'd been ogling his butt when he had climbed the tree first. She wasn't about to admit that to him though. Tuff's voice rose up to her, "Woah! Did the tree just tell you off, Snot?"

"That was just Hiccup, spoiling my fun," fumed Snotlout.

"The tree's name is Hiccup? Huh! What are the chances of a tree having a name, and its name being Hiccup?" wondered space cadet Tuff.

"None, you idiot! Hiccup is up there. In the tree. Trying to tell me what to do!"

Astrid heard him say in a lower voice which perhaps was not meant for her ears, "I'm still going to have some fun anyway. _And_ spoil Hiccup's day!" She was a little concerned about that. Snotlout often failed to think about the consequences of his actions and sometimes others got hurt. Usually Hiccup.

She kept climbing up the tree, hanging on to the small branches and pieces of timber that Hiccup had securely fastened to the tree. She made it to the underside of the hide, and looked up to find Hiccup's face smiling down at her through the entry point. "Welcome to my humble abode m'lady!" he teased. "If you ever wanted a house with a view, than this would be it."

"Million dollar views, I would imagine," she quipped back.

He continued, "Only the best that money could buy!"

"I'll give you ten dollars for it," she pretended to flash some cash at Hiccup.

"Sold! To the highest bidder!" he exclaimed. "And you are the _highest_ bidder, by at least ten feet!"

"Oh, hardy ha har!" Astrid rolled her eyes at him. "If I'd known you were such a comedian, I would have let you get your own nails!" she told him with a smile, handing him the packet.

"Now, are you going to invite a lady in, or are you going to let me stay outside?"

"Mmm. It's a bit of a squeeze in here, but you can come in if you're any good at playing 'twister'. 'Cause that's how it will be," he warned.

She just climbed further up, "Move over buster. Coming through!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you!"

He had been right. It was a tight squeeze. It took a bit of awkward manoeuvring, but finally Hiccup sat on the floor with his legs spread wide, his left knee bent upwards, and Astrid sat on the floor between his legs. Hiccup had his left arm resting on his knee behind her back, and had to lean in close to her. They could see out the small window and the view really was breathtaking.

The tree itself was towards the edge of a rise, and the valley below seemed to stretch out forever. It was a perfect spot to watch birds of prey spiralling lazily on the updrafts, searching for their next meal.

"Million dollar views doesn't give it justice, does it?" murmured Hiccup from behind her.

Astrid felt her cheeks go red, and her mind go blank as she felt his warm breath blowing against the nape of her neck. She couldn't help but notice just how close their bodies were, as she shook her head dumbly in response to his question. She felt a little mortified, and betrayed, by her own body as her skin tingled all over, in response to his closeness.

Her eyes closed momentarily and she unconsciously exposed her neck a little to him, as the unbidden thought came into her mind of what it would be like if he were to lean forward slightly and brush his lips up against the patch of skin he was currently breathing on.

Astrid snapped her eyes open, horrified at where her thoughts had taken her. Hiccup was her _friend_ , and she had no business thinking about him like that. The air inside the hide was quite _hot_ and humid, but Astrid was glad of the temperature as an excuse for her flushed cheeks.

"View's great. But we haven't got all day to sit around. I thought we were here to work," she told him gruffly, trying to shake herself mentally back to more stable ground.

He started a little at her words, as if his thoughts had been elsewhere, then nodded. "Sure...um...okay. I need you to...umm...hold this loose piece here while I secure it. Okay?" he asked nervously.

She nodded, but flushed again as she realised the two would be compelled to twist around each other to manoeuver into a more useful position. They bumped and nudged each other as they got to work securing the loose timbers, until the very last piece. She had to lean over him, while doing her very best to keep their bodies separated.

Hiccup inhaled sharply, the sweet smell that was purely Astrid, filling his nostrils. He couldn't get enough of it, and he found himself struggling to keep focused on his work, and not on the blonde bombshell currently draped over his shoulder.

Astrid was forced to continue to lean up against him while he secured the timber, which seemed to take an excruciatingly long time. Astrid wasn't sure her red cheeks could take much more. Her hair felt like it was melting onto her face from the humidity and steam that seemed to have enveloped them, as she fought to keep her breathing even. Finally, he told her in a low voice, "It's good now,… you can let go."

Astrid pulled herself back off him so fast, you would have sworn that a snake was trying to strike her. He refused to look at her as he told her that was the last piece. Astrid swallowed hard, in an attempt to gain some normalcy in her voice. She didn't particularly notice the difficulty he was having as well, or she might have paused to wonder what was happening between them.

Hiccup tried to apologize, "Uh, sorry….about that…and ...ah, thanks…" he mumbled. Astrid pushed back the limp hair on her forehead, her eyes diverted away from his, "Yeah, ….okay….no biggie." Her mind was swirling and she felt a little lightheaded. Which was probably not so good, considering how high from the ground they were.

Down on the ground they could hear Tuff singing, "Hiccup and Astrid sitting in a tree, K..I..S…" He didn't get much further, as Hiccup 'accidentally' dropped the bag of nails again and Tuff had to jump out of the way.

"Hey! You didn't have to _nail_ me…See what I did there? I made a joke!"

"Yes, yes, we got it," groaned Fishlegs. He called back up, "Are you almost finished, Hiccup?"

"Yeah, we're coming down now," he yelled back, his voice having returned to normal, although there was an odd note in it that only Astrid noticed. She wondered about it, as he glanced up at her and smirked, "After you, m'lady?"

Astrid poked her feet out first, and climbed carefully backwards down the tree, grateful for the cooling breeze on her red cheeks. Snotlout was waiting eagerly at the bottom and Tuff was grinning like a fool off to the side a little. Astrid narrowed her eyes. What were those two clowns up to? She kept climbing down, only pausing to make sure Hiccup had safely exited the hide as well.

She remembered there were a couple of loose timbers towards the bottom, so she was feeling for them with her toes. She waved them around searching for the next step but couldn't find it, so she stretched down a little further. She found it, but realised too late that it was not going to support her. She gave a surprised scream and heard " _Astrid_!" as she fell off the tree. To her shock, she felt arms grabbing around her waist as her back slammed into someone, before they were both knocked flat to the ground with a loud grunt.

Fishlegs squeaked in the background, "Are you okay?"

In a split second, she rolled off Snotlout and jumped back up to her feet. Thanks to Snot being her 'air bag' she hadn't been hurt, but Snotlout had copped the brunt of it. He was winded and likely to end up with a few bruises to boot. Astrid glanced up into Hiccup's very worried face to reassure him she was okay. He kept climbing down, trying to hurry. "Be careful Hiccup!" she called.

Tuff sniggered at Snotlout struggling to catch his breath on the forest floor. "I thought she was supposed to fall _for_ you, not _on_ you!" Astrid narrowed her eyes at the two of them. Had they sabotaged the tree? She deliberately stepped on Snotlout as she went to investigate, making him groan some more, and noticed that one ladder step had been removed and the other loosened.

Ruff yelled at Snotlout, "Way to go, you lunatic."

"You idiots! Did you do this?" Astrid threatened the incapacitated Snotlout with the broken step. By now, Hiccup had reached the missing steps and was forced to jump the rest of the way down. He landed heavily on his good foot, and fell to his knees with a grunt. Astrid rushed over to help him back up and to check that he hadn't injured himself. His face was black as thunder as he towered over Snotlout, and even Tuff shrank backwards.

" _What were you thinking_?" he roared at them. "Were you trying to get Astrid _killed_?" Even though he himself could have been injured, he was only thinking of Astrid.

"No," whimpered Snotlout. He staggered to his feet, shrinking under Hiccup's wrath. "I was going to catch her and 'save' her and be her hero," he finished lamely. Tuff didn't help, "Astrid was supposed to _fall_ for Snotlout."

"Of all the idiotic, senseless, boneheaded, most dangerous things you could have done … this was certainly up there. She could have been seriously _injured_ you moron! We're too far away from anywhere to get any help." He paced in front of them, running his fingers through his hair, frustrated beyond belief that Snotlout and Tuff, (he wasn't getting out of it) could do something so incredibly _stupid_!

Astrid was fuming over Snotlout's idiocy as well, but she was more concerned over Hiccup, as she noticed he was now limping. She had never seen him so _angry_ and it worried her. She stood in front of him and placed her hands on his chest, surprised for a moment, remembering how firm, and how _good_ he felt. He stared straight into her blue eyes with his anxious green ones. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, taking hold of her upper arms with his hands. She felt her skin jump where he touched her. This was getting ridiculous, she thought to herself irritably. She needed to gain control over herself. He was her best friend after all. And he could have been hurt in that fall, she reminded herself.

She answered in a level voice, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm more worried about you. Did you hurt yourself when you jumped?"

He shrugged off her concerns, "I'm fine. Nothing important." Astrid felt a twinge of frustration.

"But it is important!" she insisted. "We've still got a long way to go, and I don't want this weekend to be spoiled for you. It was meant to be fun, remember?"

He glanced over her shoulder at the two guilty looking muttonheads and snarled, "It's a bit late for that, isn't it?"

"Don't fuss about them. They're just doing what they always do," Astrid said firmly, drawing his attention back to her.

He regarded her with utter grief in his eyes, "But you could have been injured...badly." He released her arms and turned away, running his hands distractedly through his hair again. Astrid noticed they were shaking.

"But I wasn't," she replied gently, placing her hand on his shoulder and ducking in front of him, forcing him to look straight at her. "And I got my revenge, Snotlout is the one who suffered the most. He's going to be feeling those bruises for a while yet!"

He lifted the corner of his mouth in a small smile. "That's true. Plus I did see you step on him."

She smirked. "That's better. How about we keep walking and try to forget about this episode for now. Okay?"

He forced out a long breath, and finally nodded. "Okay. We can do this. But I want you walking up front with me, just in case."

She smiled warmly at him. "I will be happy to oblige, sir!"

He chuckled at her, regaining some of his former composure. "Alright, let's go." He scowled at the two guilty parties. "But some repairs need to be done first."

After Snotlout and Tuff repaired the damaged steps, the group set off again. Hiccup flashed a warning glare at the two men as he led Astrid back onto the trail in front of him. He wanted her as far away from Snotlout as possible.

The mood amongst the group was fairly quiet at first, but it didn't take long before Tuff and Ruff were back to their old tricks, focussing all their deviousness on Snotlout again. Hiccup and Astrid were at the front of the group as Hiccup was keen to keep a little distance between them and the others. Tuff, Ruff and Snotlout were in the middle, and Fishlegs brought up the rear with Toothless racing between them all.

The group hiked on for another two hours, only pausing for lunch. It wasn't a difficult walk as they were progressing at a steady pace, and the incline was a gentle one. Hiccup's good humour soon returned and he was able to joke with the rest of the group. Astrid was glad that he was feeling good again.

It was early afternoon when they finally reached the campsite.

"We're here!" Hiccup called out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Camping trip continued...**

They had arrived.

The campsite was under the shade of several large trees, next to the crystal clear waters of a cold, mountain stream. The remains of an old fire still existed in the centre, with large logs and rocks laid out for seating. The rope tied to a large tree branch overhanging the stream showed this was a popular spot.

The stream was flowing, but slowly enough that it wasn't a danger to most swimmers. The area under the rope was deep enough for jumping, but further out there were some large rocks protruding from the water. Just perfect for laying out and soaking up some sunshine.

"Yeah!" yelled Snotlout. "Last one in is a loser!" He raced towards the river, stripping off his backpack and his clothing as he ran, items strewn along the ground.

"Eww! Gross!" said Fishlegs, disgusted. "Can you at least put your boardies on?" he asked, as Snotlout stripped to his jocks.

"Nope!" cheered Snot, cannonballing into the river, water splashing all over Ruff who hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way. Toothless was in the river only seconds behind Snot, and Ruff jumped backwards to avoid a second soaking.

"Oh, come on! Gimme a break!" she said to no one in particular. Snotlout surfaced and shook the water from his hair, but Ruff had moved by then.

Tuff was next, taking a bit longer to strip off and pile his clothes on a log. He already had his boardies on under his jeans, which Fish was grateful for.

" _Yeah baby_!" he grabbed the rope and swung out over Snotlout before releasing it. "Coming in hot!" he shouted before being swallowed up by the frigid water. He quickly resurfaced, "Wow! That's c..c..cold!" he yelped.

Astrid and Hiccup laughed at him. They had placed their bags further away from the creek, well away from any splashing water, and were happy just to watch the show for the moment. The familiar ease they had with each other had returned, and they were enjoying each other's company.

Toothless paddled over to Tuff. "Come on Toothless!" he called, "Come save me!" But Toothless just kept floating past him. "Huh, where's the love?"

Ruff had her bikini on under her clothes, and had stopped to pull on a pair of shorts. She laid her clothes next to her brother's, before heading for the edge of the stream. She started to walk in slowly so she could take her time and get used to the cold, but Snotlout had other ideas. He floated on his back and gave a big splashy kick with his feet towards her.

 _"Ooh_! That's _freezing_! You are so dead meat, Snottie," she threatened as the cold water caused goose bumps to spring up all over her skin.

"Only if you can catch me," Snotlout taunted, turning to swim out towards Tuff.

Ruff dived in under the water. Because the water was so clear she could be easily seen, but Snot was facing the other way and hadn't noticed her. She swam behind him and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him under. He went down with a loud yelp and a splash. Ruff quickly separated herself from him, and came up for air further away, laughing. "That'll teach you!" she called out to a spluttering Snotlout.

"Oh, it's _on_! Say your prayers, 'cause I'm comin' for you," shouted Snot. He started swimming for Ruff, who shrieked and swam towards the shoreline. Luckily she was the faster swimmer and clambered out before Snotlout could reach her, racing through the trees. Snot tried to follow, but soon got winded and gave up, bent over double from the effort. Ruff's laughter could be heard further away as she danced around in front of him, just out of reach.

When he got some breath back Snotlout called out to Tuff, "Control your sister, man!" Tuff was just happy to float along the surface. "Nup! She's outa control."

Snotlout soon jumped back into the river to continue his swim.

Fishlegs, in the meantime, had pulled a small pop-up change tent from his bag, and had gone inside to change into his boardies and swim shirt. He was a big man, and not comfortable stripping in front of everyone else. He reached the water's edge at the same time as Snotlout dived in, receiving a splashing for his trouble. He complained, but Snot only laughed and splashed him some more.

Ruff didn't stay out for long. When she thought it was safe enough, she grabbed the rope and swung out towards her brother, yelling as she went.

Hiccup and Astrid had moved closer to the river, where Hiccup was throwing sticks into the water for Toothless to chase. He was having a great time swimming through the water, his long black fur floating out in waves beside him. Every time he caught a stick and scrambled up to shore with it, Hiccup would throw another one and the wolf would jump straight back in to chase it.

Hiccup turned to Astrid, "You going in?" he asked. "Soon," she replied. But in that moment of distraction, Toothless had arrived with the last stick. Because there was no more sticks to chase, he decided to shake the cold water from his shaggy coat….all over Hiccup and Astrid!

"Ahh! You useless canine!" Hiccup yelled, water dripping from his hair and his clothes. Astrid was soaked too, but she just laughed. "Nice shot, Toothless!"

Toothless just cocked his head to one side as if to say, ' _Well come on! Where's my stick?'_

"Well," said Astrid with a grin. "I guess we're going in now!"

Hiccup smiled his lop-sided grin straight at her, and Astrid's heart skipped a beat. She wondered if she'd ever noticed how attractive that smile was before, especially now with his hair all damp and shaggy.

Hiccup caught her staring at him, and lifted one eyebrow at her. "Something on my face?" he queried.

She gave herself a mental shake, and teased, "Only half the river! Time to get properly wet, Haddock!" as she stripped off to her bikini, and pulled a pair of shorts out of her bag.

He sat down on the log behind her to remove his shirt and jeans and watched as Astrid stripped, admiring her curves. She was really beautiful, and his heart swelled a little with the love he had for her. He didn't realise that he had paused in his work until she asked, "Need help there?"

He chuckled, "Nah! I'm good!" He was wearing boardies under his jeans like Tuff, and had to sit down to remove his prosthetic. A lump of metal on the end of your leg was not the best floatation device, and he could still swim well enough without it.

Astrid had waited by the river bank for him, but Tuff and Snotlout had other plans for Hiccup. They climbed out of the creek, water cascading down their bodies as they headed towards Hiccup. He glanced up in time to see the glint in their eyes, "Guys?"

They grabbed one end each and carried him towards the river while he complained loudly, before tossing him unceremoniously into the water. He landed with a tremendous splash, totally soaking Astrid and Fishlegs, who were standing in the shallows.

He came up spitting and spluttering, his hair plastered to his head, while Astrid shrieked, " _Cold_!" and Fishlegs complained, walking further down the bank. The two boys wasted no time and dived into the water again, Tuff by way of the swing rope. So when Hiccup rose to the top, there was only one person left in his sights. Astrid.

He wickedly narrowed his eyes at her, and she watched him cautiously. He waved his hand at her, "Time to get in here, Astrid."

"It's cold," she complained.

"Jump in quick. Otherwise I'll send Tuff and Snotlout to throw you in, too."

"You wouldn't dare!" she protested.

"Try me!" he challenged, tweaking one eyebrow up, his voice low.

Astrid grumbled but didn't want to miss out on the fun, and _really_ did not want to be thrown in, so she dived in headfirst. She swam under the water, surfacing in front of Hiccup. She had to wipe the hair out of her eyes so hadn't realised how close she was to Hiccup. She gasped at the sudden chill. He smirked at her, "Glad you could join me. How's the water?"

She splashed him with her hands and turned to swim away, but he was quicker. He grabbed her legs and pulled her closer to him. She struggled and kicked, so he shifted his grip and held her firmly by her waist instead. Astrid found herself with her back to his chest, skin on skin, his warmth radiating down her cold body. She gasped and shivered, but it had nothing to do with the water. Being so close to him had sent bolts of electricity shooting down her spine, and she was taken by surprise.

Hiccup had pulled her up against him by instinct, but it felt so _right_ to have her in his arms. He felt her shiver, which triggered off a reaction of his own. He knew it wasn't from the cold. Her response to his touch made him feel elated. She wasn't insensitive to him. He wanted to pull her in tighter till she melted into his arms, but instead he let her go.

She turned to face him, silent and wide eyed as she paddled to keep herself upright. He just lowered himself in the water till his lips were being teased by the cool ripples and gave her a dark predatory gaze. She understood that he had felt the reaction between them too, and he welcomed it. Astrid felt a little confused. Why would she feel like that? All she really knew was that it felt _good_ and she wanted more. Which just confused her further.

He gave a low, throaty chuckle at her discomfit and that snapped her into action. She gave him a wicked half smile and splashed him full in the face. "Hey!" he spluttered. Astrid laughed and splashed him again before swimming away. This time he wasn't quick enough to grab her. He struck out after her, determined to catch up, but he was interrupted by Toothless swimming past, and he had to pull up. He splashed the wolf instead, who chomped at the droplets and swam around him. Hiccup laughed at his friend enjoying himself.

Astrid climbed out and joined Ruff on the bank where they had ganged up on Fishlegs, trying to convince him to swing on the rope. They were threatening to push him in if he didn't jump. Snot and Tuff were laughing at their efforts, as Fish was a big man and the two girls combined would still not be enough to move him. But when the two men offered to help, Fish gave in and went for the rope.

He grabbed the rope but hesitated. With all the gang egging him on, he drew on his resolve and pulled back before lifting his feet and allowing it to carry him over the water. He gave a girly shriek as the others called out, "Let go of the rope!" He swung backwards and forwards a couple of times before finally releasing it. He belly flopped right next to Snotlout and Tuff who were immediately submerged under a tidal wave.

They came up for air, laughing like lunatics with the girls on the bank cheering Fishlegs on. Ruff decided it was her turn, so she grabbed the rope and pulled back. She launched across the water and tucked herself into a perfect cannonball, hitting the water beside Snot who went under again. When she surfaced, he was ready for her and he dunked her back under. She came up yelling, and Snot couldn't get away quick enough!

Astrid was next, having waited for her turn. Hiccup had already floated towards the middle of the stream and climbed up on one of the rocks to warm up in the sun. He leaned back on his elbows and watched through lidded eyes as the sun glistened off the water droplets on Astrid's skin, her blonde braid plastered down her back. He noticed with an appreciative eye her athletic body and the ease with which she moved.

Astrid yelled, "Coming through!" before launching herself into the stream and splashing Fishlegs.

"Astrid!" the big man complained, shivering. "Sorry Fish!" she laughed back, not really sorry at all.

Turning in the other direction, she noticed Hiccup relaxing on the rock and swam over to him, pulling herself up onto the warm surface beside him.

"Nice dive," he commended, squinting up at her.

"Thanks, can't say the same for you though," she teased, as she squeezed the water out of her hair all over him.

"Hey! I was just getting warm!" he protested, jolting into an upright position and hastily wiping the cold water off his torso.

She just laughed before flopping down next to him, resting her arms on her knees. The cool breeze drifted over her wet skin and she shivered a little. Hiccup smiled at her, "Little cold there, are you?"

She glanced over at him with a wry grin, "How could you tell? Was it the goose bumps on my goose bumps which gave it away?"

"Nah! The blue lips and the shivering did it for me," he teased. He edged behind her a little, his arms outstretched behind him to hold him up, to block off the breeze. He was close enough that Astrid could feel the warmth radiating from him. A blush moved up her neck, as her own body heated up in response.

"Better?" he asked in a low husky voice, surprisingly close to her ear.

Astrid didn't trust her own voice, so she nodded curtly. She felt like her skin had become suddenly charged with electricity as her body tensed, and she became hyper aware of his body so close to hers.

She wondered at this new development. She had always enjoyed being close to him, he made her feel safe. But this was different, her body seemed to be screaming out for his touch, demanding an intimacy they'd never shared before. It shocked her to realise that it was taking all her willpower _not_ to lean back into his chest, and pull his arm around her.

They had been best friends for years, and always enjoyed each other's company. But things were changing. She found herself thinking about him more often, distracted by him. She had started to notice how handsome he was, and how attentive he was to her, always considerate. When others teasingly suggested a romantic connection between them, she had always dismissed the notion, but the idea continued to linger in her mind. She wondered if he felt the same.

Astrid thought back to earlier on when they were in the water. They had physically connected and both had a reaction to it. And both of them knew it. So he was feeling something too. Was he falling in love with her? He certainly wasn't pulling away from her. She felt a thrill go through her. What would it be like to be loved by Hiccup? The idea was exciting and she couldn't suppress a shiver. He noticed and drew a little closer to her, thinking she was still cold. Astrid leaned back slightly, unable to resist any longer. They were barely touching, she could feel the hairs on his forearm brushing against the super-sensitive skin on her back. Her tummy did multiple flip flops at the barest of touches. She didn't know how long she could handle the electricity passing between them. She was surprised that blue sparks weren't coming off them right now.

Hiccup had noticed how quiet Astrid was, and how deep in thought she was. She seemed almost rigid beside him but she wasn't pulling away. He wondered what she was thinking. She shivered and he leaned closer to warm her up. He noticed she seemed to lean back into him a little more at that. Maybe she was affected by him as he was by her? He decided to test her. He moved to sit forward, and as he did, he brushed his hand very lightly along her back. He was just as surprised as Astrid when she violently shivered at his touch. Yup! That was a positive!

Her next reaction was almost immediate. She shoved him sideways. Hard. "Hey!" He rolled himself back into a sitting position and grinned at her. "Still a bit cold there, huh?" he teased.

She refused to look at him, blushing furiously. "Something like that," she mumbled. They sat up next to each other on the rock, side by side. She resolutely kept her face turned away from him, and he was grinning like the cat that caught the mouse. A splash and some yelling distracted them, and they looked up to see Snotlout dive bombing Fishlegs. They laughed at their friends antics, finally breaking the spell that was over both of them.

Astrid peeked up at Hiccup and smiled shyly at him. He returned her grin. They didn't want to sully whatever it was that had happened between them with words, but they knew they had both liked it.

They started chatting quietly to each other, sitting closer together, watching their friends splash around them in the water. Toothless had long ago given up swimming and was snoozing on the bank, his head resting on his front paws. The afternoon was moving on, and it was almost time to set up camp for the night.

Hiccup had a sudden thought, and he turned towards Astrid. "Astrid, why don't you learn to fly a plane with me?" he asked. She paused and regarded him thoughtfully. "At least come up and have a couple of lessons with me first. And then decide if you want to keep learning or not," he begged. She smiled softly at him. He was almost childlike in his desire to have her share in his passion. How could she refuse him? She wasn't totally sure she was committed to the idea, but it was never going to hurt to have a few lessons first, right?

"Sure, why not?" she smiled brightly at him. He clenched his fist and pumped his elbow back towards himself, "Yesss!" he celebrated. Astrid laughed, glad to be the reason for his happiness. "You won't regret it, I promise!"

Astrid stood up on the rock, and growled down at him, "I hope not, or you'll never hear the end of it!"

He was too excited to do anything but laugh, "I have no doubt about that!"

"Come on, Hiccup! Time to get ready for some food." She dived into the water and splashed him with the cold water.

"Hey!" he protested. She popped up out of the water, pushing her hair out of her face. "Oh stop complaining you big baby!" she teased. "You have to get back in here anyway."

He pretended to pout, then leaned back on his elbows. "I might wanna stay here for the night. Nice and warm and dry."

Astrid splashed him again, soaking him with freezing water. "Woah! That's it! You've done it now!"

She just laughed and swam towards the bank. Hiccup stood up and balanced on his one good leg, before diving in after her, but he could not catch her before she reached the bank on the other side.

Pulling herself out of the water, she waited for him so she could offer him her shoulder to get back to his dry clothes and his prosthetic. He grinned, happy to take advantage of the moment. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, making sure to pull her in closer than usual, while she wrapped her arm around his waist. She smiled shyly back up at him, knowing what he was doing, but not wanting to complain.

She helped him over to the log where his clothes were and went to grab his backpack for him as he sat down. He pulled out his towel and dried off first, before putting his leg back on. She left him to it, while she took out some clean clothes and a towel from her own bag. She went to use Fishleg's pop up change room to strip off her wet togs and into some dry clothes. When she emerged, she found Hiccup sitting on a log close by, waiting for his turn to change. "All yours."

He smiled that crooked smile that sent her heart fluttering, and hopped up to take her place. "Thanks!"

They had been the first to come out of the river, apart from Toothless, and the others now followed their lead. All except Tuff who was determined to stay in. Ruff was yelling at him, "Tuff! Your lips are turning blue! Get out before you freeze!"

He yelled back, floating in the river, "Cool! Just call me Smurf man!"

Fishlegs joined in, "You'll turn into a block of ice, Tuff. Please come out!"

Snot called to the other two, "Leave him! There'll be more food for us if he stays in there. Maybe he'll float downstream?"

That did it. Tuff didn't want to miss out on his food, and he didn't want to wash away either. He headed back to the bank, muttering and complaining about people taking his food. He made sure he shook the water from his hair all over Snot, who was in the process of towelling himself dry.

Hiccup and Astrid kept out of the road of all the yelling and flying cold water. It took a little bit of co-ordination, but they soon had Tuff focussed on one of his favourite activities, lighting a camp fire. It was too big for a camp fire, but the temperature had dropped quite a bit as soon as the sun went down so no one was going to complain.

The group settled around the blazing fire, eating camp food and telling stories, laughing at each other, having a wonderful time. Astrid and Hiccup sat next to each other, closer than usual. Fishlegs noticed and gave Hiccup a small thumbs up. Hiccup just grinned at him, before glancing back at Astrid as she laughed at something Tuff had said. He watched as the firelight danced off the shadows on her face in a tantalising way. Her blue eyes turned back in his direction and he felt a lump rise in his throat as he gave her a small smile. _'She's beautiful'_ , he thought to himself, as he held her gaze in wonderment.

Ruff noticed them staring at each other, and elbowed her brother before motioning towards the pair. He sniggered and opened his mouth to say something but Fish frowned at him and shook his head. _'Leave them alone'_ he plainly indicated.

The moment was interrupted by Snotlout, who had been oblivious as usual, to all the subtle signals.

"Hey Astrid, you can lay out your swag by mine tonight. I'll protect you with these," he pumped up his biceps and kissed them. Astrid just gagged while Hiccup glowered at him. Fishlegs frowned at Snotlout's insensitivity while Ruff yelled at him, "You dunce! Astrid doesn't need _you_ to protect her!"

Toothless took that moment to rise up from his position in front of the pair, and growled at Snotlout.

"Okay! Okay! I see Toothless is on the job," he put his hands up in surrender, "but you know Astrid, if you need help, Snotlout's your man." His vanity and ignorance was beyond belief. Astrid giggled at him, "Thanks Snotlout, but I'm good." She snuck a quick glance towards the man sitting beside her. She was already well protected and she couldn't be happier.

She could see Hiccup was still fuming at Snotlout. She gave him a quick nudge to distract him. "Don't worry about it," she whispered to him. He gave her a quick half grin and dropped his head, turning his attention to his shaggy friend sitting in front of him. He reached out to give Toothless a pat, as a thank you for protecting Astrid. The wolf licked him back.

Astrid picked up her rubbish and Hiccup's and threw it into the fire. It wasn't wise to leave any rubbish lying around, and Tuff's fire was large enough to consume any scraps they had.

A cool breeze blew across the group and Astrid gave a small shiver. The night was cooling rapidly and they were all grateful for the warmth of the fire. Hiccup got up and walked over to his bag. He pulled out his jacket and brought it back to drop it over Astrid's shoulders. He sat back down beside her. "Warm enough, now?" he asked. "You didn't have to do that," she told him quietly, smiling gently at his thoughtfulness. "But yes, thank you. That's nice."

She could smell his pleasantly musky scent on the jacket, and breathed it in. She loved it, and curled the jacket around her shoulders. It was almost like wrapping Hiccup himself around her.

The group had settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the crackling of the fire as Tuff fed it more dry wood. Fishlegs broke the quiet, "This is nice, you know? Being together up here? I'm glad we came."

Everyone went back to their thoughts. Growing up meant gaining responsibilities, and this prevented them from getting together as often as they used to. They hoped they had a few more years together first before they were forever pulled apart by whatever life had in store for them.

Ruff's voice broke out, "Let's make a pact. No matter where we go, we will always come back here at least once a year. You know, to remember times like this."

It was a very sobering thought that they might have to separate. But they all nodded their agreement. A pact, no matter what, to always return here.

Tuff gave a huge noisy yawn, his jaw almost unhinging. Hiccup laughed, "I guess that means it's time to hit the swags! Come on, Tuff. Time for bed. Tomorrow is another day."

There were no complaints from anyone about that. It had been a long energetic day and they were tired. They rolled into their swags, calling out 'Night!' to each other. Hiccup made sure that Astrid's swag was close enough to the fire for heat, but far enough away to be safe, the way he always did. She smiled to herself. She loved how he always looked out for her, despite the fact she was quite capable of looking after herself.

She snuggled into her swag, facing towards Hiccup. She stared wonderingly at him before her heavy eyelids refused to stay open any longer and they fell slowly over her blue eyes, a hint of a smile still on her face, under the protective gaze of his deep green orbs.

"Goodnight, Astrid. Sweet dreams," he whispered.

 **Ah! The magic of the orbs...Had to put that in there. Sounded silly otherwise! Watcha think? Like the camping trip?**


	8. Chapter 8

A few days later, Astrid was again at Hiccup's front door. As soon as they had come back home from their hiking trip, he'd been flat out busy. So she was here to take Toothless for his usual walk. She put her key in the door and opened it, calling for the black wolf. He came running to greet her, but she was surprised to see that someone else was already there. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was home!" she stammered to Stoick.

"That's all right lass!" he boomed at her. He was a very broad man, with a voice to match. "I'd left some papers at home and had to come back to pick them up," he explained. "Taking Toothless for a walk?" he asked.

Astrid bent down to give Toothless the pat he had been waiting for. "Yes, Hiccup didn't have much time this week," she explained.

"Aye. Uni and work has kept him busy," Stoick agreed. "Did I hear you singing when you came in the door?" he queried.

Astrid blushed. "Yes," she mumbled. She'd been feeling good since the weekend, and had broken into song on her way over.

"Must have been a good camping trip. Hiccup has been really happy too since you all got back," he noted, giving her a meaningful look as he packed his briefcase.

She blushed again, remembering the moments they'd had together, realising that she had feelings stronger than just friendship for him. They hadn't had any time together since they got back, but that hadn't stopped her mood from flying high. The thought that he had been just as happy, gave her butterflies. Maybe he had deeper feelings for her too?

Stoick observed the girl in front of him, and noted the blush on her cheeks when he mentioned his son. Like everyone else, he had known long ago that his son was in love with Astrid. He had been waiting for the time when the two of them would recognize that they belonged to each other. It seemed that over the weekend, they had finally drawn a little closer. He was thrilled about it, but he understood that it was still new to them, and he didn't want to put a damper on it.

She spoke up, "Yes. It was nice to be together as a group again. We haven't been up there for such a long time, everyone's been really busy."

"Aye, responsibilities come with growing up. It's not always easy to do the things you want to anymore."

Astrid had to ask, "How do you do it? If being an adult means responsibilities, then how do you spend time with your friends? How do you have fun?"

Stoick smiled warmly at her behind his full, bushy beard. "Woah there, Astrid! Being an adult does bring responsibilities, yes. But it's not all work and no play. Things are….different, yes. But you learn to enjoy the next phase in your life. Time spent with friends becomes more…special. Sometimes you just have to plan a little harder to keep them in your life. The carefree days of your youth are left behind, but something more amazing replaces it instead. Maturity, growth and yes, hard work. Things to be proud of."

"Oh!"

He could see Astrid was mulling over what he had said.

"And when you find someone special to share your life with, being an adult becomes a whole lot more rewarding and fulfilling," he mentioned warmly.

She blushed again. Stoick grinned to himself. Yes, the future was looking bright.

"Well, now lass, I'd best be off. Good to see you again." He turned to pick up his briefcase and headed out the door.

"Bye Stoick! And…and thank you." He smiled to her in response, then left.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me again, huh Toothless?" Astrid spoke to the wolf lying on the floor in front of her. He thumped his tail at her words and she laughed.

-oOo-

The next day, Astrid was at uni, looking forward to meeting up with Hiccup and Fishlegs at lunchtime. Because of their different schedules it didn't happen too often. And this would be the first time they'd been able to spend together since they came back from their weekend away. She was excited about seeing him again.

At the moment she was running late, having had to catch up with her teachers from the last class. She entered the open doors of the cafeteria, and soon saw Hiccup and Fishlegs sitting at the table on the other side of the room. Hiccup was facing away from her, and a smile appeared on her face as she recognised his shaggy auburn hair. But the smile soon disappeared and she faltered, when she noticed the sultry dark haired woman sitting across the table from Hiccup.

She couldn't see exactly what was happening, but what she could see was enough to disturb her. The woman was leaning forward over the table, purposely showing plenty of cleavage in her low cut dress. She was smiling at him in a suggestive manner, and obviously had hold of Hiccup's hands in her own.

The woman was talking to him, although Astrid couldn't hear what was being said. The ebony haired woman got up to leave and she walked behind him, trailing her hand over his shoulder before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. She couldn't see Hiccup's reaction to her, so she didn't know if he welcomed the attention or not, but Astrid felt her anger rise in her throat. How dare that woman pour herself over Hiccup like that?

The sultry figure left Hiccup and headed towards Astrid, aiming for the door. Astrid shot daggers at the woman, who glanced at her with green eyes as she went past. Astrid was not known to her, so she just shrugged and headed out through the door. This made Astrid even more furious, that woman didn't even know who she was! She was….she was….Astrid struggled to find the right word, and halted in her blind anger. What was she?

Astrid stepped back outside the cafeteria and leant up against the wall out of sight, breathless. What was she? She was Hiccup's best friend, wasn't she? But she knew that wasn't strictly true anymore. Last weekend had shown her that there was something much deeper between them. But….she wasn't his _girlfriend_ either…was she? _No_! Did she want to be? _Yes!_ Her mind screamed at her. Yes!

Astrid took a deep shuddering breath as she faced a cold, hard fact. _She_ wanted to be the one pressing kisses on his cheek, on his lips. _She_ wanted his arms around her, with his warmth against her body. Her body tingled, just thinking about it. _She_ was in love with him!

Astrid was shocked to realise that she loved Hiccup. When did that happen? It must have snuck up on her so gradually that she hadn't noticed until now! She panicked. Did Hiccup love her? He certainly reacted to her on the weekend, but was that love? What if it wasn't? Could they still be friends? Would he be laughing at her foolishness? Her mind was buzzing with all her questions.

A beep from her phone snapped her out of her thoughts. She opened it to find a text from Hiccup. ' _Where are you? Are you okay?'_

She sent him a quick text back, ' _Almost there'._

She had to get in there. What was she going to do? What was he going to do? She decided to act casual and find out who the other woman was first. How was she going to do that? She couldn't exactly admit she'd seen her, that was quite a few minutes ago. Other women had targeted Hiccup before. Admittedly, none of them had been quite so _handsy_. But maybe she could casually ask if any more women had been chasing him while she was away? He never lied to her, so he would have to tell her. It wasn't a brilliant plan, but it was a plan. Astrid had to know. And right now, it was the only thing she could think of. She sucked in her resolve and walked through the door, to Hiccup.

Fishlegs saw her first. He spoke to Hiccup who turned around to watch her, his face lighting up with obvious delight. Astrid's heart melted. How could she ever doubt a face like that? She smiled back and gave a small wave. He stood up and waited for her to be seated opposite him, before he sat back down again.

"I thought you weren't going to make it," he said with obvious relief that she had finally arrived.

"Yeah, I needed to catch up with the teacher after class and it took a while," she explained, trying to keep her voice casual.

"Never mind, you're here now," he said with obvious pleasure at having her with him.

Astrid's heart did a back flip. Being in love seemed to make the world a lot brighter. There was just that one nagging problem…

She tried to comment light heartedly, "I can't leave you alone for too long, now can I? Some gorgeous woman might come along and sweep you off your feet, and then where would I be? Sitting alone at lunchtime?"

Hiccup's face immediately clouded over, and he shuffled uncomfortably.

Astrid struggled to not blurt out an accusation, "What? Did someone try to hit on you? Do you want me to sort them out?"

Fishlegs chuckled, "There was that girl just before. She was quite the piece wasn't she?"

Hiccup muttered sarcastically, "Thank you, Fishlegs." He wanted the ground to swallow him up, and Fishlegs to stop talking.

Astrid's eyes narrowed as she listened. But she said nothing and waited.

Fishlegs continued on oblivious to Hiccup's discomfit. "Yeah, I thought she was going to lay you out, and take you right there on the table!"

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup snapped.

Fishlegs suddenly realised what he had said, and he gaped at Astrid wide-eyed. "Oh! I mean…she… but you would never…..you didn't know…..I'll stop talking now." He hung his head and miserably contemplated his plate on the table instead.

"Finally!" Hiccup groaned.

Astrid tried to keep it light, but there was a hint of steel in her voice. "Do I know this _seductress_?"

He frowned quizzically at her tone, and paused for a moment. Astrid refused to look away. "No, I don't think so. I've only seen her once or twice before. But today, all of a sudden, she practically throws herself at me. She asked me to teach her how to fly and that she would ….er… _reward_ me," he finished off slowly, searching the table for something interesting. He didn't find anything.

Astrid was furious, but tried not to show it, "So what happened then?"

Hiccup snapped his head up and searched into her cold eyes. He could see that she was upset, so he did his best to console her. "I turned her down of course. Told her I wasn't interested, and I don't give flying lessons." He smiled at her, "Except to you, of course." She gave him a tight smile back.

Fishlegs agreed, "That was about it. Hey guys, I've got to get going. I'll see you all later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure Fishlegs. Seeya later," waved Hiccup.

"Bye Fish," said Astrid.

She waited till the big man had left than turned back to Hiccup, persistent in her quest for knowledge. "Did this mystery lady have a name?"

"I think it might have been Heather. Why?"

She tried to appear nonchalant. "Oh, no reason. Just in case she turns up again. Someone that keen will probably try again."

He became horrified at the thought. "I hope not!"

"What did she look like, you know, so I can head her off if she comes your way again."

"I don't know," he waved his hand around offhandedly, "I guess she had dark hair, about your height, wears her clothes a little too revealing."

"Well, that could describe half of the girls here," she gave a forced laugh. "Was she beautiful?" Astrid couldn't help but prod.

Hiccup was surprised and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Astrid.

"Astrid! Are you…..jealous?" he quizzed.

It was her turn to blush, "No! How could I be? I don't own you. You are free to be with whomever makes you happy," she denied vigorously.

His eyes narrowed at her, and she squirmed. "You were happy with me on the weekend," he reminded her softly.

She blushed again, "Yes, well… that was a special weekend." She didn't want to straight out admit that she cared for him as more than friends.

"Yes it was," he agreed. Hiccup wanted to find out if she had any feelings for him beyond that weekend.

"Dad said you were singing when you picked up Toothless yesterday," he said carefully.

"Well, it was a nice day. I was happy! No crime against that," she grumbled, feeling the blush deepen.

"Do you normally sing to Toothless?" he queried.

"No, not usually," she admitted.

"So what made you happy?" he asked, pushing.

"I don't know, it was a beautiful day."

"It was overcast," Hiccup corrected her, dryly.

"Was it?" Astrid was surprised. She didn't recall that. Everything just seemed so bright to her.

"Yes, it was. I know, cause I had to fly through it."

"Oh!" Astrid fell silent. She knew she was about to be caught, but she didn't know if Hiccup cared about her in that way yet. She remembered something.

"Your dad said you had been in a good mood since the weekend too," she watched him triumphantly, as he blushed.

"As you said, it had been a special weekend," he responded levelly.

Astrid didn't realise she was about to trap herself, until it was too late.

"What made it so special for you?" she challenged, before her eyes opened wide, horrified at what she had just said.

Hiccup couldn't believe she had just asked him that. Did she know that if he spelled out what had been so special, he would also be revealing her reactions too? He decided this was his opportunity, to let her know his feelings about her. To let her know he loved her. And to find out how deep her feelings were for him.

His face darkened with passion, making Astrid hesitate. She understood what she had so carelessly done. She found herself trembling as she waited for his answer.

He answered slowly, his voice deep and husky, "I got to spend time with a beautiful blonde, who reacted to me every time I touched her. And I know I wasn't immune to her touch either. It made the sun shine brighter. It made a cloudy day seem like a beautiful day," his words were rich with meaning, gazing intently into her eyes.

Astrid felt like she was lost in his deep green eyes, that their surroundings had no importance anymore. He was the only thing she was focused on.

She hadn't realised it, but Hiccup had drawn closer to her hands, covering hers with his own. He stroked the back of her hand with his finger, moving past her wrist, further up her arm. Astrid gasped, as shocks of electricity shot down her arm, making her skin hyper-sensitive.

Hiccup gave a sly half grin to her. "It seems it wasn't a once only event."

Astrid was embarrassed by the fact her body had betrayed her again. She pulled her hands away from him and sat on them.

"You…you surprised me, that's all," she floundered. She tried to look anywhere but at him.

"Astrid, look at me," he commanded quietly.

She shook her head.

"Astrid…Please."

He sounded nervous, which Astrid did not expect. She turned her head sideways to look at him. He was twisting his fingers together, as if he didn't know what to do with them. What was making him so nervous?

Hiccup _was_ nervous. He had always told himself that he wouldn't force himself on her, but now he felt he had to lay his heart out on the table. If she chose to reject him, than that would be the end of it. But he couldn't live like this anymore. He had to be honest with her, they had always been honest with each other.

"Astrid, I have to tell you that you...you are very special to me, you always have been."

Astrid wondered where he was taking this conversation. She held her breath waiting.

"This past weekend, we shared something special. I know you felt it too." He shifted to study her blue eyes and gazed at her intensely, seeking her confirmation. She nodded, so very slightly.

"I don't know if you have deeper feelings for me or not, but I know that you are the only girl for me. I have loved you for a long time and hoped that one day, you would… love me too."

He dropped his eyes again, "I always promised myself, I would never force myself on you, but I have to ask….how you…how you feel about me?" he finished quietly.

Astrid was in shock, and she sat there wide-eyed with her mouth open and her heart racing. Did Hiccup just say he loved her? That he'd always loved her? Her hands returned to the table unbidden.

"You love me?" she questioned breathlessly, her voice breaking.

He took hold of her hands, "With all my heart," he said fiercely, looking deep into her eyes with so much intensity, it took her breath away.

"Why?" she whispered so softly, he could barely hear her.

His gaze never left her, as he answered firmly and passionately, "Because you're a fighter, you're smart, you're funny…you've always been there for me, you understand me…you're the only one I can completely trust…you're as scary as hell! And you're beautiful...You're everything to me, Astrid. Only _you_ could ever complete me. If you ever left, then I would be only half a man. I don't want to be half, Astrid. I want to be whole…with you."

Astrid gazed at him wide-eyed, mesmerized by the fire in his eyes. Her thoughts were racing, she was trying to comprehend the idea that _Hiccup_ actually loved her! That he had just said all those beautiful things about _her._

She broke out of her Hiccup induced trance, "Wow! That's a lot to live up to!" she spoke softly.

Hiccup wanted to know…he _needed_ to know…He asked hesitantly, "And you? Do you feel the same way about me?" His confidence had fled, and his gaze was now anxious. He felt like his entire life pivoted on this moment, whether she rejected or accepted him. He held his breath as he waited for her answer, his grip on her hands becoming firmer, as if he could somehow prevent her escaping from him.

Astrid took a deep breath. He had just poured his heart out on the table. It was time for her to do the same.

Her eyes flicked towards their entwined hands, and she focussed on his thumbs drawing circles on the back of her hands. Her voice wobbled a little, as she fought to find the words to express what she had recently found to be true in her own heart. "I…I care about you…a lot. You mean so much more to me than just a friend. I value your opinion…and you're always so patient with me…You make me want to be a better person, a more _caring_ person…and I want to be the only person who looks after you, Hiccup. I never want to be apart from you. I don't think I could even breathe if you weren't beside me…I…I love you, Hiccup."

She spoke so softly, that he wasn't sure he had heard her, or if he was just dreaming.

His heart skipped a few beats as his mind tried to process what she had just said.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry? Did you just say you loved me?"

She nodded slowly, smiling up at him, very unsure of herself and this new direction they were about to take.

He released her hands and stood up before pacing round to her side of the table. He extended his hand out to invite her to stand with him. She took his hand and stood up, beaming.

The joy on his face was almost blinding, "Astrid, you have made me the happiest man alive!" He pulled her gently into his arms, holding her tightly. She sighed, her arms snaking around his waist, and let herself relax against his chest, loving the feel of his strong arms around her. She listened to the thump, thump of his heart, thinking it was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. _This_ was where she needed to be, where she belonged. It felt so right and she wondered why it taken her so long to realize it. He loved her! And she loved him. He kissed her gently on the top of her head.

He drew back slightly from her in his arms, before tentatively sliding one hand along her shoulder, then her neck, before gently grasping her chin and directing her gaze to his. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his face toward hers, pausing just moments away from her lips, seeking permission to do something he had never done before. Longing flashed through her eyes, giving him the confidence to continue. His lips touched hers gently, sweetly, lovingly. She responded in kind. It was everything a first kiss was meant to be. Astrid felt a tingle in the pit of her stomach, building in intensity as the kiss lingered, till she was left breathless when he finally pulled away, the look of love and desire unmistakable in his eyes. She couldn't look away from him, even if she tried, her vulnerability reflected in the soft gaze she directed at him.

He smiled at her. His world was now complete. She was in his arms in a way that he had dreamed of for years. He gently cupped the back of her head causing her to rest her cheek on his chest, before wrapping his arms around her so that they were in their own private little world.

"Thank you, Astrid…For everything," he whispered.

"I can't believe this is happening…" she wondered, still tucked into his chest. "Are you real? Is this a dream?" she questioned, not moving from her position.

He chuckled lightly, before reaching down to lightly kiss the top of her head. "No, this is definitely no dream. And I am very much real."

He slid his hand over the back of her head, towards her jawline. He encouraged her to look up at him, and the look in his eyes left her speechless.

"And so are you," he finally told her, the livid green of his eyes pulling her in so deep she felt she could never escape. Nor did she want to.

He broke the moment first, by leaning in to lightly kiss her forehead.

She sighed as she leaned back into his chest with a deep seated satisfaction that she hadn't known was missing from her life until a few moments ago.

His arms tightened around her again and Astrid felt so comforted, so _loved,_ that she never wanted to move from this spot…ever.

Time stood still, but finally reality crept in. Astrid pulled back a little to look up at him. "What do we do now? Shouldn't we be in class or something?" Classes had restarted a long time ago. They were still standing in the now empty cafeteria.

"Nah! I wouldn't be able to focus anyway. A certain beautiful blonde would be on my mind. We can catch up later. How about we go somewhere else instead?"

"Where do you have in mind?"

"Don't know yet. We'll figure it out as we go."

Astrid went to pull away, but Hiccup stopped her. He motioned for her to sit down again, and he bent down on one knee in front of her. Astrid's eyes opened wide. What was he doing now?

He said to her sincerely, "Astrid, I've loved you for such a long time, and it was only in my dreams that you loved me back. And now you are really here, it's no longer a dream, you really do love me." Astrid smiled self-consciously at him.

"I want to make sure there are no more misunderstandings. Astrid Hofferson, will you be my girlfriend?"

Astrid's eyes opened wide as she sucked in her breath, her heart galloping away from her. She let it out slowly, then narrowed her eyes mischievously at him. She put her finger to her check and pretended to think about it. "Mmm, I don't know!" He frowned. Surely she wouldn't reject him now.

She pulled him forward and kissed him gently on the lips, feeling amazed at her own bravery, "Of course I will. I would be a madwoman to turn you down!" He grinned foolishly at her, relief flooding through his veins.

He got up and helped her to her feet.

She took hold of both his hands with hers and said to him with all the love she had, "I love you, Hiccup Haddock."

He responded, "And I love you, Astrid Hofferson." It shone out of his eyes, his lips, his whole being.

She stretched upwards to press a soft kiss on his lips. She barely lifted away, and her lips brushed over his as she spoke, sending shivers down his spine, "That's for making me the happiest woman alive!"

He grinned and reclaimed her lips as his own. "I could get used to this!" he murmured before kissing her again. Astrid had kissed him once or twice when they were younger, but this was completely different. The world disappeared around them and it was only them, exploring each other, tasting each other, taking themselves to a whole new unknown and exciting level of their relationship.

They finally separated and held hands as they walked out of the cafeteria towards the exit, gratified and bursting with happiness.

As they walked, curiosity got the better of him though. He asked, "So when did you decide that you loved me?"

She hung her head guilty.

"What is it, Astrid?"

"I have to confess something…..I saw _her_ draped all over you but…you didn't see me. I went back outside because I was upset. I…I realised I was upset because I loved you, and that _I_ wanted to be with you."

That surprised him. "Then? Just today? That's when you decided?"

She nodded in reply, glancing sideways at him.

"Well, I must really thank Heather for that then."

Astrid smacked him on his shoulder, "Don't you dare!"

Hiccup laughed at her. "I can see this is going to be quite a violent relationship. Maybe I should get some shoulder armour!" That comment only earned him another slap, but much softer this time.

As they walked through the hallway, holding hands, they ran into Fishlegs. He only needed to glance at their happy faces, and the way they were holding hands to realise what had happened.

"So? Is it official? Are you two finally together?" he asked, indicating their entwined fingers.

"Yup!" replied Hiccup happily. Fishlegs immediately pulled out his phone and texted the rest of the gang about the good news.

"Everyone's gonna be so happy that you two are finally a couple!" he squealed, as he hugged them both, congratulating them.

"Wait a minute! Was I the only one who _didn't_ know about your feelings for me?" she questioned Hiccup, gobsmacked that she had been walking around so blindly while everyone else _knew_.

"Pretty much," he replied offhandedly, as their phones began beeping with text messages.

Astrid checked her phone. Ruff sent ' _About time you realised! Great news! Send me photo of first kiss_!'

Tuff sent ' _Woo hoo! At long last! Congrats!_ '

Hiccup snorted and showed Astrid the message on his phone. "Not everyone was keyed in."

Snot had sent a text to Hiccup, ' _What did you do to her? She's my girl! Stay away you runt_.'

Astrid checked her text from Snotlout, ' _Did you hit your head? I'm on my way babe, I'll take you to hospital. Don't worry, you don't have to stay with him._ '

She showed Hiccup and they laughed. Astrid fired a text back, ' _Get over it, Snot. I was never your girl, I have always belonged to Hiccup.'_

He sent back, ' _?_ '

Hiccup approached Astrid with a sly grin. She eyed him warily, "What are you up to?"

"Oh nothing, just fishing for a kiss," he replied airily. She was happy to oblige and leaned in to meet his lips with hers. As she did, she heard a faint click.

"What was that?" she asked him suspiciously, pulling back.

"I just sent that photo to my dad," he said with a laugh.

"Your dad knew about us too?" she was incredulous. "Where was my head? In the clouds?" she couldn't believe that everyone knew about them, except her!

-oOo-

On the other side of town, Stoick was in a meeting with several of his staff. He heard the text message come through and opened it when he saw it was from his son. Hiccup never interrupted him unless it was important.

"Ahh! Yess!" he exclaimed when he saw the photo of his son and Astrid kissing.

"Everything okay, Stoick?"

"Oh sorry! Excellent news! My son has a girlfriend. Finally!"

-oOo-

Astrid, Hiccup and Fishlegs passed through the reception area of the uni on their way home.

They ignored the newsflash that appeared on the silent television on the wall. As the newsreader spoke soundless words, the teletext message appeared underneath.

THIS NEWS JUST TO HAND. A DANGEROUS PRISONER HAS ESCAPED FROM BERK PRISON. HE IS DESCRIBED AS FIVE FOOT TEN TALL, WITH SHORT RED HAIR, AND THREE TATTOO MARKS ACROSS HIS FACE. IT IS BELIEVED HE HAS FAMILY IN THE AREA WHO MAY BE ASSISTING HIM. IF YOU SEE HIM, DO NOT APPROACH. PLEASE CONTACT POLICE INSTEAD.

HE IS CONSIDERED TO BE ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

 **Oh my! Whatever will happen next? Would I be so cruel as to upset a fresh love story? Wait and see...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Things are about to go down...or not. I would like to mention I would love to fly planes..but I don't. Any pilots out there are welcome to correct me.**

Two days later, Astrid and Hiccup were approaching his private hangar, ready for Astrid's first lesson in his plane. She was quite nervous, not sure if she was doing the right thing or not, but wanted to do it anyway. Hiccup was so excited about her agreeing to learn to fly with him, and she didn't want to disappoint him.

Besides that, there was something a little thrilling about flying with your _boyfriend!_ Astrid smiled to herself. She still couldn't believe what had happened only two days ago. They had finally admitted they loved each other, something that most others had already known, which was a surprise to Astrid. And to Snotlout, apparently. He was still in shock and had sent her multiple texts begging her to regain her senses and come back to him. He was even willing to 'forgive' her the slip up. Astrid had shown that text to Hiccup who had shook his head and laughed.

Stoick had thrown an impromptu party that night, inviting all their friends and a few of Stoick's closest friends, including Gobber. There had been plenty of music and laughter, except from Snot of course, who had sat in the corner scowling at them all night. They had completely ignored him and left him there sulking. Ruff had finally gone over and started teasing him, reminding him that she was a female too. He had been a bit surprised at that, but had started to lighten up by the end of the night.

The next night, they had gone for a jog with Toothless in the forest where they had run into Eret. It had been a little awkward, especially as he had interrupted them passionately kissing on the pathway.

They had to stop themselves from laughing because he appeared so confused. But after he had left them, they couldn't help themselves and laughed till they cried, tears of mirth overflowing on their faces. Astrid blushed at the memory.

And now here they were. Hiccup had emailed her some information to study, back when she had first agreed to it. She had studied it well, so at least she knew what most of the instruments did, and what they were called. How to use them was a whole other story. She probably needed to know a bit more before she got in behind the controls of a plane, but she felt safe with Hiccup, and he was super keen to get her up in the air.

Hiccup was beside her now. The plane was already parked outside the hangar, as he had been in earlier that morning to have it fuelled and readied. He gave her a clipboard, and commenced the pre-flight checklist with her, making sure she understood what he was doing and why.

Astrid sighed. She was doing her best to concentrate, but she knew that most of this information was going to have to be repeated another time. Oh well, this was her _first_ lesson.

"Got that?" he turned to her and asked.

"Ahh…sure?"

Hiccup grinned at her, "Okay! Don't worry about it. It's not vital that you are an expert in everything on your first flight."

"Whew! For a moment there, I was worried you were going to throw a pop quiz at me!"

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"I was kidding Hiccup! Oh my goodness! You wouldn't do that to me would you?" she said in a mild panic.

He gave her a teasing grin. "Nah! But it was sure fun making you sweat on it for a moment!"

She punched him in the shoulder.

"Oww!" he grinned at her, rubbing his shoulder.

"Just remember, there are repercussions! Plus I won't be able to do that once we're in the air."

"Ah! Grasshopper does remember!" He pretended to bow with his palms flat together in front of him.

"Come on, already! Aren't we supposed to be in the air, like a half hour ago?" she said exasperated.

"Oh my! We are anxious, aren't we?" he said. "You'll be fine. You won't be doing anything death defying today. Just the basics on handling a plane once we're in the air. I'll be doing the take-off and landing part. You can do those in lesson two!"

"Well, that just made me feel so much better!" she said sarcastically.

He regarded her with a glint in his eye, "Okay, if you are feeling relaxed now, I won't have to do what I was going to do to help you stay calm."

"And what exactly was that?" she asked cautiously.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked teasingly.

"Sure! Why not! Every little bit helps, right?" she was feeling quite nervous and the butterflies hadn't stopped since she got up this morning. She really wasn't sure what she was doing here. But she never backed down from a challenge…or a promise.

Astrid figured that whatever plan Hiccup had up his sleeve would probably help. And she needed some help right now.

"Okay, just remember you asked for it," he said in a deeper voice.

He stepped in front of her, and gently took hold of her face in his hands. Her eyes widened, but she soon relaxed when he drew her to him kissing her softly and sweetly, before wrapping his arms around her in a loving embrace. She sighed deeply and leaned into his chest, loving his smell and the way she just seemed to _fit_ into his arms. This was all so very new and she was still adjusting to life with boyfriend Hiccup, as opposed to life with best friend Hiccup. Her butterflies started dancing again, as they had done multiple times per day in the last two days.

"See? It worked didn't it," he whispered softly into her ear, making her shiver.

"I don't know. I might need a few more of those. I don't think one was enough," she murmured into his chest.

He just laughed gently at her, and pulled away. She pouted.

"Come on, you! We're here for flying! Not snuggling!"

"Yeah, but snuggling was so much fun, and we kept our feet on the ground!"

He just laughed again and shook his head. "I've created a monster!" he threw his hands up in the air in mock frustration.

She just laughed with him. This was nice! Their banter had taken on a whole other level since they had officially declared their love for each other, and she was sure her face was going to split in two from the huge grin she seemed to be sporting all the time, whether he was near her or not.

'Okay, m'lady! You ready to finish the pre-flight checklist from inside the plane now?"

"Sure," she said with as much feigned bravado as she could muster. Her palms were starting to feel a little sweaty now.

"Let's go then," he held out his hand to her, so he could escort her to the door, and help her in to the pilot's seat.

"Thank you, sir!" she teased. She could easily get herself in and out of the plane, but he loved to treat her like a lady, and she loved to let him. She felt very spoilt!

Once they were both settled in the plane, Hiccup helped her work through the remaining checklist. Hiccup's door was still open for the moment, and they were concentrating on the task at hand.

"Well, now, isn't this cute," drawled a harsh voice.

The couple looked up, surprised at the interruption. A muscular man with short spiky red hair, and three marks running across his left eye was standing outside their open door.

He had a gun pointed straight at them.

Astrid stiffened in fear, wide-eyed with shock. Hiccup, who was sitting at the open door, automatically shifted his body to cover Astrid.

"What do you want?" he asked the man in a low dangerous tone.

"Well, according to the gun in my hand, anything I want," the intruder laughed maniacally at his own joke.

Then he snarled at Hiccup, "I want you, and your little girlfriend here, to fly me to the Mainland. I have some buddies waiting for me there, and they are mighty keen to see me, you dig?"

Hiccup stared darkly at the stranger, his voice firm and unwavering. "How about you let the girl go first. Then I'll take you to where you want to go." He was furious.

"Well aren't you the little hero?" sneered the maniac. " _NO_!" he shouted at Hiccup, suddenly serious again. "I may be deranged, but I'm not stupid. Let her go, and she runs off to tell the police. She comes too," he snarled.

He added in a menacing low voice, "Unless you want me to put a bullet through her first. Then she can stay."

Hiccup's face darkened like thunder, "You will not touch a hair on her head, I swear I'll….."

"You'll what?" the stranger interrupted. "Let me guess. You're gonna hurt me? You are just _soo_ typical! Did you watch too many action movies or something?" he drawled.

Hiccup tried to stall, his mind racing to find a solution.

"She doesn't know how to fly. We were just going to go up for her first lesson."

"I don't care. She isn't leaving!" shouted the red head. "No more stalling, Hiccup! I'm getting in! NOW!"

He forced himself past the young pilot into the back seats, being careful to keep his gun pointed at them.

"Wait! How did you know my name?" Hiccup was surprised.

"Oh, I know all about you, _Night Fury_!" he laughed in a way that sent shivers up Astrid's spine.

"I know you're the best soft-field pilot around here, and where we're going,….let's just say, there won't be any airports for a very, very long way," he said with an evil sneer. "My sister was supposed to get you to take her for a flying lesson, but she _failed,_ " he said aggressively.

Astrid and Hiccup glanced at each other with the one thought, _'Heather'_.

"Who knew that 'Miss Goody Two Shoes' was already kissing up to you for free lessons," he mocked. "Now get going! Or your little girlfriend here will be feeling some cold steel courtesy of Dagur!" he snarled again.

"Who's Dagur?" Hiccup questioned carefully, stalling. He needed a plan…

"Me! You idiot! No more delays! Move this plane now!" he poked the gun barrel hard into the back of Astrid's head for emphasis. She glanced sideways at Hiccup with eyes wide in fear.

"Okay, Okay. Take it easy. I have to close the door and get the plane started. There's procedures to follow, alright? Unless you want to fall out of the sky," Hiccup challenged, keeping his eyes locked on the maniac behind his girlfriend as he sat twisted in the seat.

"Just hurry up, already."

Hiccup and Astrid put their headsets on.

Dagur immediately complained, "No headsets! I don't want you planning something."

Hiccup had to think quick, "The headsets are needed so we can contact the control tower. We can't just fly off without going through them first. You want trouble? That's the quickest way to get it."

"Give me a set too, then," he demanded.

"I don't have any more," Hiccup lied. He did, but he wasn't about to let this madman know that.

"No funny business then, I'll be watching you like a hawk," he growled at them, brandishing his gun at them.

"We got that message, loud and clear," stated Hiccup with a drawl. This guy was starting to annoy him.

Hiccup started the plane's engine. It rattled as the propeller kicked into life, conversation now difficult with the noise.

He gave Astrid a thumbs up. She was still pale and wide-eyed… and terrified. As soon as they were in the sky, Hiccup would be the only one who could save them. She wondered how he was going to get them out of this mess. She desperately hoped that he had a plan. That steel barrel behind her head was making her sweat. _Not_ a good way to start your first flying lesson!

Hiccup knew there was no going back now. His brow was furrowed with anxiety too, but he maintained a calm air about him. Astrid took some comfort from that.

Slowly, the plane taxied out towards the runway.

"This is 'Night Fury' on Bravo Romeo Kilo 1..2..3 preparing for take-off," he informed Control through his mic, pushing '7500' into his transponder. '7500' was the code for a high-jacking, and he hoped someone would see it.

They did.

"'Night Fury' can you reset your transponder," returned Control.

Hiccup set it again for '7500', letting the operator know it wasn't an error.

"'Night Fury' can you hold?' the calm voice asked through his headset. Astrid glanced at him.

"Negative, Control. Imperative we reach the blue," he answered. He was worried that if they stalled on the tarmac, Dagur would do something drastic. For his plan to work he needed to be in the air. He had noted that Dagur was not wearing a seat belt, and he wasn't about to remind him to put one on.

"Vectoring air traffic now, please hold," Control advised.

"What's the hold up, Hiccup?" Dagur demanded, yelling over the noise of the engine.

"We can't just fly out there whenever we like. We have to wait till other flights are out of the way first. The bigger planes take priority over us," Hiccup yelled back at him, annoyed. He wasn't about to tell him that other aircraft were being diverted just for them. But every second they waited was another second the authorities were closer to them, and another second that Dagur would do something….deranged.

"Unless you want to crash into something bigger than us, you're gonna have to wait!" he yelled again.

He saw Dagur muttering something but couldn't hear what it was.

"'Night Fury', confirm your destination please," asked Control through his earpiece. Astrid glanced over at Hiccup. She had heard the request, but Dagur hadn't.

"Unknown, repeat, unknown," muttered Hiccup, adjusting his microphone, hoping they would hear him. Fortunately, they did.

"Can you confirm direction? Can you confirm South?" Control asked again. South was the Mainland. South was also the direction that Dagur had indicated as their destination.

"Affirmative, Control. Repeat, affirmative," he replied softly. Dagur hadn't heard and was staring out the window, suspiciously looking for any interruptions to his plan. His gun however, was still facing forwards.

Hiccup knew that his father would be notified as the manager of the airport, he knew that police were being notified, he knew that everything was being done to try and get them out of this situation. He also knew there was a gun pointing at Astrid's head, and she was in danger. He was not going to let this red-haired maniac take her from him. Not when he had only just found her.

Astrid glanced at him with fear in her eyes, but determination this wasn't going to be the end. Hiccup was proud of her for being so brave. He gave her a small smile.

"'Night Fury' you're cleared for take-off," came the voice from the tower, cutting into his thoughts.

"Roger that, this is Night Fury preparing for take-off," he confirmed. He eased forward on the throttle to taxi towards the runway, checking his gauges, and adjusting the flaps, frowning with concentration.

When he was in position for take-off, he pushed the throttle forward, feeling the force from the little engine pushing them backwards into their seats as the wheels started their path down the white line in front of them. He noticed with a slight satisfaction, that Dagur had been forced to remove the gun away from his target. He had also still failed to put his seat belt on, and Hiccup hoped that his insane desire to maintain control would prevent him from doing so.

The little Cessna sped along the tarmac, gaining speed and momentum as the engine increased in power and volume, straining to fight against the friction that held them captive to the ground. It wouldn't be long before they had enough speed to give them the lift they needed, to be free from the constraints of the earth.

To be in danger.

-oOo-

Back at the airport, a certain large man with reddish hair stared out the windows of the tower, all his thoughts focussed on the small plane leaving the ground. His life, his future, his son was on that plane. He didn't know who else was on there, and what threats were being placed on the life of Hiccup and Astrid, but he knew he had never felt so completely helpless in all his life. Not even in the hospital, after Hiccup had lost his leg. At least there the medical staff were doing something to help. This time, there was no one. No one but the two of them.

And a mad man.

-oOo-

Despite the situation, Hiccup still felt a familiar thrill run through him as the plane finally overcame the hold the earth had on them. The plane lifted up rapidly into the sky, his stomach lurching pleasantly. They were in the air, in _his_ world, and with that knowledge came confidence and power. He was born to _fly_. That much he knew.

Now, Hiccup had to act quickly. He didn't know where they were going to end up, so Hiccup wanted to take this flight to its conclusion on _his_ terms. His face set with grim determination.

He didn't look at Astrid, but he murmured to her over the head set, "Keep your seat belt tight, and hold on. This ride is about to get bumpy."

She gave a small nod to show she'd heard. He saw her tighten her seat belt, and then wrap her hands around the edges of her seat.

Hiccup waited until they were high enough before he started. He kept glancing at the mad-man as he waited for two things. One, that the gun had shifted away from Astrid, and two, that Dagur himself was distracted and focussed elsewhere. The second part was easy as he was keeping an eye out for any trouble to find them at the airport. The first part was not so easy.

But it came.

For some reason, Dagur started to relax once they were in the air. The gun was laying down on his lap, his finger loose on the trigger. Hiccup could see this when he turned slightly to assess what the risks were of the gun being accidentally fired. He decided that Astrid wasn't in the immediate range of danger.

Hiccup threw the control wheel to the right in a quick movement, making the plane suddenly lurch to that side. The engine changed pitch and tone as the little aircraft went into a knife edge. Astrid had been tense, in expectation, but she still struggled to maintain her position.

"Aarghh!...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled Dagur, as he found himself flung up against the wall of the Cessna, his finger automatically tightening on the trigger of the pistol in his hand. It wasn't controlled, but it was enough. The firing mechanism went off and released the lethal knob of metal free from its prison and set it off on its trajectory towards its final destination. Dagur lost his grip completely on the gun and it free floated in the cabin before landing out of his reach. But the damage had already been done. The bullet hit the metal frame of the plane before ricocheting towards Hiccup.

The bullet grazed the skin on his shoulder, instantly raising a line of red and causing a burning sensation that made him want to yell with the intense pain of it, but he merely gritted his teeth and held tighter onto the wheel. He could not afford to lose control now. The bullet finished its course by breaking through the side glass, allowing a sudden rush of air into the cockpit as the glass exploded from the impact.

-oOo-

Back at the control tower, Stoick held his breath as he noticed the plane make a sudden tilt to the right, He hoped the plane was like that because of Hiccup, not because of some disaster unfolding inside the cabin which he could not see. He hoped and prayed that the two people he cared about in there, would both walk away from this.

-oOo-

When the plane unexpectedly tilted, Dagur had slammed into the side wall screaming, but the gun had landed against the wall too. He struggled to reach it against the G-forces holding him tight. Hiccup had not performed that manoeuvre just to allow him to reach the gun again. He had succeeded with his first goal, albeit with some pain. But he was not about to allow them to be reunited again.

He quickly adjusted the control wheel again, so that the plane levelled out, then rapidly pulled up almost vertical. Dagur was slammed back into his seat, screaming, the gun sliding towards the back of the plane. Hiccup could see Astrid was pale and frightened but she wasn't saying a word. Her teeth were clenched together tightly to prevent herself from yelling.

She saw the red stain on his shoulder and gasped, but Hiccup wasn't taking any notice of it. His lips were drawn together in grim concentration. This was only the beginning, as having separated Dagur and the gun, he needed to keep them apart. And he needed to immobilize Dagur.

He flipped the plane on its right side again. The roller coaster ride was beginning to mess with Dagur's head, and make him feel weak, but it wasn't enough to make him give up. He grunted and strained to pull himself forward. It would only take a moment to reach them, or the gun.

Hiccup needed to stop him and he had to do it fast.

"Astrid, I'm gonna need you to take the control of the wheel soon, and keep it steady. Do you think you can manage that?" he asked calmly.

Astrid's pale face became even paler. But she nodded in her determination to do whatever he needed her to do.

"Good girl! Very shortly, I will ask you to get ready and you will need to put your hands on the wheel. When I say 'now', you take over. Got it?"

"Yes," came her scared response.

Dagur's stomach was swirling, but his focus was on the pilot, as he determinedly pulled himself forward, stretching out his fingers ready to grab. Hiccup forced the plane vertical again, pushing Dagur backwards into his seat once more. " _Aargh!_ Enough with the rolling already!"

Hiccup responded by violently rolling left then back to the right.

Dagur smashed up against the side with a loud curse, then rolled out of control over on his back towards the other side. "HICCUP!" he screamed. "STOP IT NOW OR I WILL…." He stopped as his stomach threatened to project through his throat.

The gun was sliding precariously closer to the red head, but the man didn't notice as he gritted his teeth in fierce concentration. His fingers gripped the side of the seat, where he was laying half on and half off.

But a gun wasn't the only weapon he had. The man sniggered as he realised he had the muscles and the strength to overpower both of them. His eyes shifted from Hiccup….to Astrid. _She_ was the pilot's weakness.

A maniacal laugh escaped his lips as he was jostled once more. He noticed the long blonde braid waving around right in front of him.

Hiccup knew he had only moments to act. He was aware of Dagur closing in on them. He rapidly loosened his seat belt, then pulled the plane up vertical again, pushing Dagur back who yelled more curses at Hiccup.

"Get ready," he muttered to Astrid, who nodded and put her hands gently around the control wheel on her side.

Hiccup levelled out, knowing Dagur would not lose a second before launching towards them. "NOW!" he shouted to Astrid. She gripped the wheel of the plane. Immediately the plane went into a small nose dive, as she accidentally put too much pressure on the wheel.

" _PULL BACK GENTLY_ ," yelled Hiccup over the engine's tortured whine as he undid his seat belt and twisted to face Dagur, who sneered at him, just as the plane's nose dive propelled the redhead to the front.

Hiccup was waiting for him.

He smashed his fist into the face coming straight for him.

Dagur groaned and wobbled from the shock. He staggered over….right behind Astrid.

Astrid pulled on the wheel to level out the plane, but overcorrected. As the plane's nose turned skyward again, Dagur's arm shot out and grabbed the blonde braid hanging right in front of him, his nose bloodied and broken from Hiccup's direct hit.

"ARGHHH!" she screamed at the extreme pain of having her hair suddenly yanked backwards.

Automatically, she let go of the wheel, and the plane groaned and lurched. Everything hung suspended momentarily in mid-air inside the cabin, before the plane started its deadly spiral downwards.

They didn't have long. Hiccup practically leapt past his seat to punch Dagur again. His fist barely connected, but it was enough. Dagur released Astrid's hair and she shot forward in her seat.

Hiccup now had to get back into his seat to regain control of the plane as it continued its downward path. If he didn't, _no one_ was going to walk away.

 **The tension! Hopefully there is enough of it. Let me know what you think...**


	10. Chapter 10

Stoick's heart nearly leapt right out of his mouth, when he saw the plane behaving so erratically and clearly not under Hiccup's control. The police and the fire brigade were already on alert and they were watching the scene as closely as Stoick. But none were watching with as much desperation. When the small aircraft started its downward spiral, he yelled, " _PULL UP! PULL UP, SON! PULL UP!_ " willing Hiccup to regain control with every fibre of his being. His fists were clenched so tight, his knuckles were pure white. He could do nothing but watch, as his son, his only child, plunged downwards out of the sky to meet his death.

-oOo-

Hiccup was frantically trying to regain his seat, to regain control of the plane, but Dagur was bouncing around in the cabin, practically on top of them. He wasn't above taking two more with him if he had to die. The gun was still sliding around somewhere, but no one was paying any attention to it at the moment. There was already enough danger without that.

Astrid shouted, "WHAT DO I DO?"

Hiccup only had two words, " _STOP HIM_!" while he slipped the seatbelt over his shoulders but did not buckle himself in.

Astrid decided she'd had enough, and fought against her own heaving stomach, and ignored the twisting of the world outside her window. Dagur was right behind her again, and she grew angry that he was responsible for all this trouble. Her adrenalin fuelled her as she clenched her right hand into a fist and smashed into Dagur as hard as possible.

It was enough.

She connected with his broken nose, and the pain he felt before, was nothing to the pain he felt now as fireworks of agony exploded in his face. He screamed as his eyesight blurred from the intense pain. The sky and the ground rapidly rotated outside the window…the sound of the high pitched whine from the engine and wind rushing past filled his ears completely disorientating him. Dagur groaned as he gave in to the darkness, collapsing across the back seats.

Hiccup finally had his hands on the controls, and called on all his training and experience to bring the plane out of its death spin. He knew what the plane's limitations were, and he knew how close to the ground they were.

They were split seconds from reaching both.

He pulled back on the throttle, levelling off the ailerons, and pushed forward on the controls to lift up the nose. He altered the angle of the elevators, precious seconds disappearing rapidly.

Astrid stared at Hiccup, her mouth set in a grim thin line, as she prayed frantically that he could regain control of the plane. Her hands held a death grip on the seat as she concentrated all her desire to live on him. She had blood on her hand where she had injured herself when she connected with Dagur, but she spared not one single thought on it. She couldn't even feel her hands.

She did have one other thought, " _This was one hell of a first lesson_."

It felt like an eternity, but finally the plane responded, the nose lifted and the wings levelled off. The danger had not dissipated as the plane was still in descent, aiming for the ground. But somehow Hiccup managed to increase the power and pull the plane skywards moments before impact.

They were safe!

Hiccup and Astrid both let out a huge sigh of relief and they glanced at each other in complete disbelief. Their hearts were thumping wildly with sheer adrenaline.

Hiccup turned back to the semi-conscious man sprawled across the seats behind them. He was groaning, and trying to hold his head steady. He didn't look like he was going to be much of a threat for a little while.

-oOo-

Back on the ground Stoick choked back his tears as all around him there were yells of excitement, and fists being pumped in the air. He smiled as relief washed over him like a tidal wave.

They were going to make it.

-oOo-

Hiccup turned to his passenger. "Are you okay, Astrid?" he asked worriedly. Anxiety was written on every millimetre of his face. She was always his primary concern.

"Yeah, although I doubt I'll be walking too well when we land. Jelly legs," she gave him a nervous smile.

"Ha! Yeah, those death rolls tend to do that to you! Never mind, I'll help you," he grinned at her, his face relaxing a little.

"My hero!" she said with a half-smile, but she had never been more serious in her life. He had literally, just saved her life.

"I'm pretty impressed by you too. I never knew you were such a _knock-out_ ," he teased, referring to her disabling blow to Dagur's face.

She held up her injured hand, and grimaced. "Yeah, he made quite an impression on me too."

She observed Hiccup's shoulder, where the blood had splattered down his sleeve and across part of his chest. "What about your shoulder?" she asked, alarmed.

He brushed it off. "Just a flesh wound. How about we head home?"

"You said the magic words!" she replied, with the biggest grin she could muster.

The radio came to life, "Come in 'Night Fury', this is Control. Man! That was one hell of a ride! Are you safe to land?"

Hiccup grinned towards Astrid. "Control, we couldn't ask for anything better right now."

"Then prepare for landing, 'Night Fury'. Emergency services are on standby for you when you land. We have someone here who wants to speak with you."

"Roger that. Patch them in."

"Hiccup?"

"Dad!"

"Son, are you okay? I thought I was going to watch you crash and burn out there!"

"It wasn't much fun from this side either, dad. Yeah, Astrid and I are both fine. But we have someone in the back that the police might be interested in."

"Bring that plane in, son. We'll be waiting."

"Okay dad. Signing out."

-oOo-

The landing was almost a non-event, except for all the emergency vehicles waiting for them on the side of the tarmac. Hiccup helped Astrid out of the plane, her legs threatening to give way, before they were both pulled away by the ambulance crew to have their wounds treated. The police dragged the groaning Dagur out of the back of the plane, and the firearm was located and secured as well. They congratulated the pair for keeping calm and coming out alive. Hiccup told them about Heather, who had tried to help her brother get on the plane. The police nodded, they already knew about her, but not that she had already approached Hiccup.

The firefighters checked over the plane as a precaution, but there was no danger of any explosions or fire. The large bullet hole through the windscreen was the only damage. Gobber was on hand to tow the plane off the tarmac once everyone had moved on. But first he gave the pair an almighty hug. His face was pale. "Don't you two ever do anything like that again! You hear me? You almost gave me a heart attack! I had to change me undies!"

"We'll try not to, Gobber," replied Hiccup seriously.

Another car raced towards the crowd, stopping outside the ring of emergency vehicles. Hiccup looked up when he heard his name.

"Hiccup!"

"Yeah dad, over here," he called back.

Stoick pushed through all the workers surrounding the plane and headed towards the ambulance. He paused when he saw his son sitting on a stretcher with his shirt cut off and a bandage being wrapped around his arm and hand. Astrid was beside him, her hand already bandaged up.

"You're hurt?" he whispered, the colour draining from his face once again.

"Dad, we're good. Only scratches," he reassured his father. "See? All finished!" He held up his hand as the ambulance officer finished wrapping the bandage.

Stoick drew closer and hugged his son tight to his chest, unable to say anything at that moment. Hiccup could feel him shaking and knew his father had been terrified of losing him …again.

Hiccup felt winded under his father's crushing hug and mumbled through his father's chest, "Uh, dad? Need air!"

Stoick released him.

"You've gotta stop doing this death defying thing you have going on. Are you trying to kill me, lad?" Stoick demanded.

"Yeah sure dad. I'll try to limit it to once a month, okay?" he said dryly, rubbing his bruised ribs.

"I see your sarcasm and wit stayed intact," returned Stoick. He turned to give Astrid a gentler hug, which surprised her. He'd never hugged her before.

"I'm glad you're okay too, lass. I've already contacted your parents to let them know you're safe," he murmured gently to her.

"Thank you," she said appreciatively.

Stoick turned back to Hiccup. "I thought having a girlfriend would settle you down, not make things worse!" he exclaimed.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at Astrid, who blushed. "We're just twice the trouble I guess," he grinned cheekily at her.

Stoick shook his head at the pair of them. "Well I'm gonna have to work twice as hard to keep you two safe. I'm taking you both straight home so you can rest. You won't be getting back on that blasted bike of yours after all this."

Hiccup opened his mouth to protest, but Stoick cut him off, raising his finger in the air.

"Nope! Not another word. Gobber will take your bike home later, after he looks after your plane. So as soon as everyone here is finished with you, you will be getting in the car. No arguments!" he scowled at the young man in front of him.

Hiccup just grinned brazenly back at him, "Yes, sir!"

It wasn't long before Hiccup and Astrid were sitting in the back of Stoick's car, being escorted home. He stopped off to get them some lunch first, then made sure they were settled in the lounge with their food and the tv on. Although he quickly changed the channel when the news footage came on and it showed their plane spiralling out of control, ready to crash.

Hiccup was surprised, "That's on the news already?"

Stoick grimaced, "Well it's a little hard to miss when a plane starts doing death defying stunts right over the airport! When you decide to put your life in danger, you like to pull an audience while you do it."

Astrid gave him a gentle slap with her good hand, "Always the show man!" she teased.

"Just gotta do it in style!" he chuckled.

"That's not even funny," Stoick dead panned, although there was a little twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm not sure I should leave you two alone," he continued worriedly.

"Dad! We're _fine!_ " Hiccup complained.

Stoick finally left after a few more assurances from the pair that they couldn't possibly get into any trouble sitting on a couch, plus Toothless was there to protect them. Stoick finally agreed with that, as the wolf hadn't left their sides since they'd walked in the door. It was if he knew there had been a problem, and he didn't want to let them out of his site.

"Finally!" Hiccup said exasperated, when the door shut behind his father.

Astrid giggled. He turned on her, "What are you laughing at miss? You still haven't had my final inspection." He gently pulled her into his embrace, then suddenly grimaced as pain shot through his injured shoulder at the movement.

She pulled back slightly, "Your arm! You're hurting!"

He grumbled and pulled her back in, "Only if you keep insisting on pulling away from me."

She smiled, and hugged him back, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you for saving us," she whispered.

She was shocked to feel him shaking against her cheek. She looked up in alarm.

"Hiccup? What's the matter?"

His eyes were squeezed shut, and tears were resting on his eyelashes. He gently pushed her head back onto his chest, and kissed the top of her head. "I nearly lost you," he whispered, his breath so ragged and shaky, it was painful to listen to. The reality of what had happened was about to hit him. Hard.

She tightened her arms around his waist. "It's okay, we're here. We're safe now. It's all over," she tried to comfort him.

"I've only just found you! I can't tell you how terrified I was when he pulled that gun on you. If I hadn't insisted on you having that silly lesson, you wouldn't have even been there!" he said dragging in unsteady breaths and tightening his grip on her, as if he was frightened she might disappear completely from his sight if he dared let go for even a microsecond.

She quickly reminded him, "Then I would be the one devastated. Remember? He targeted _you_! He wanted _you_ to fly him to the middle of nowhere! If I hadn't been there, you would have gone, then what would've happened? I would've never seen you again! That man was deranged! He didn't care who got hurt!" she almost yelled at him as she pulled back to look directly into his green eyes with anger and fear flashing in her own.

She smiled softly up at him and spoke gently this time. "But we're still here, Hiccup. Please don't worry about something that didn't happen. I know that I will always be safe with you." She leaned forward to kiss him gently on his lips. He hungrily kissed her back, as if it was the last thing he was ever going to do.

Finally they separated, and she rested her cheek against his chest, and he rested his chin against the top of her head. He sighed, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

Astrid giggled, "Not today!"

Hiccup smiled and kissed her forehead, "Then I had better fix that. I love you, Astrid. More than flying, more than breathe itself."

It was Astrid's turn to sigh, "I love you too, Hiccup." She couldn't even believe how deeply she loved this man, especially as they had only been together for a few short days.

Toothless stirred around their feet. His attention was focused on the front door.

"What is it, Toothless? Is dad back again?" questioned Hiccup to the wolf.

He released Astrid, who settled back into the couch, picking up the remote to flick through the tv channels.

Hiccup strode over and opened the front door. "What are you lot doing here?" he asked in surprise.

Astrid looked over her shoulder to see who it was. The gang were all there, crowded together at the front door.

Ruff pushed past first, "It's rude to leave your guests on the doorstep. Move over!" she ordered as Hiccup hurriedly got out of the way.

Astrid was taken aback too. "How come you guys are here? Aren't you all supposed to be at work, or uni?"

"Nice to see you too," drawled Tuff.

Astrid smiled, "I'm sorry. We're just surprised, that's all."

Snotlout took the remote off Astrid, and tuned it to the local news channel.

"Did you know that a plane got hijacked today?" he asked them. Astrid and Hiccup turned to each other, and their faces paled.

Fishlegs spoke up, "Yeah, a couple who were on a flight lesson were in it."

Tuff added in, "Guess what the pilot's call sign was? 'Night Fury'."

They all looked straight at Hiccup. "What?" he asked. "Have I got something on my face?"

Fishlegs spoke softly, "No, but you both seem to have something on your hands, and on your arm."

Ruff asked bluntly, "You two got something to tell us?"

Snotlout suddenly broke in, "Shh! It's on!"

Everyone turned towards the tv, where a newsflash was being broadcast. Hiccup walked behind Astrid on the couch, and put his hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her own. She could feel the tightness in his grip, and knew he was reliving the morning's events in his mind as they watched the video footage of the plane spiralling out of control, before finally levelling out and at the last possible moment, pulling back up into the blue sky again. The footage then cut to the scene after they had landed when Dagur was being dragged from the plane, and Hiccup and Astrid were being escorted to the ambulance, blood clearly visible over Hiccup's shirt.

Tuff spoke first when the news finished, "You guys are all over the news. When were you going to tell us about it?"

Hiccup tried to keep it light, but he spoke through gritted teeth, "Look at that, we're famous!"

Astrid explained, "Guys, we would have said something to you, but we just got here. It's been a lot to take in, and we needed to get ourselves together first, okay?" She could still feel Hiccup's strong grip on her shoulder.

He tersely added, "Yeah, 'cause we like to make it a weekly event, you know….nearly getting killed by some crazed lunatic. Sorry we couldn't keep you up to the minute, you know?"

Ruff broke in, and spoke for them all. "We were really worried, we love you guys, okay? We got a heck of a shock when we realised it was you two on the news."

Tuff added, "We rang the airport, but no one would tell us anything. We finally got through to your dad, and he told us you were here."

Snotlout threw his hands up in frustration, "We had to wait for _hours_ for anyone to tell us something!"

Hiccup replied sarcastically, "Well, I'm sorry we inconvenienced you while we were trying not to die! Next time someone pulls a gun on us, I'll ask them to wait while I call you first!"

Snotlout grumbled, his focus still on himself.

Fishlegs gasped, "He pulled a gun on you? What happened? Can you tell us?"

Astrid looked up at Hiccup, his face dark and angry. His jaw was stubbornly set, as he was still devastated about what had happened. She patted his hand on her shoulder to get his attention.

"Come sit down, babe," she pleaded. "Let's do this, okay?" He stared at her, mixed emotions running across his face, but eventually nodded. He walked around the couch to sit beside her, wrapping his good arm over her shoulder. Astrid spoke first, telling their story as best she could. She would look to Hiccup for confirmation every now and again, and he would nod his head. When she described how the gunman threatened her life, he pulled her closer to him, and his jaw tightened. His eyes squeezed shut, as if he were trying to block out the memory. He kissed her on the side of her head, seemingly to remind himself that she was still here with him, in his arms. Still very much alive.

When she described to the gang how Hiccup had rolled the plane to separate the gunman from his pistol, then how they had lost control of the plane when he attacked Astrid, they gasped, horrified at what their friends had gone through. When she described how Hiccup had fought to bring the plane back under control, Fishlegs got up and silently patted his friends shoulder. "We're glad you're both home safe. Well done, Hiccup."

Snotlout and Tuff shook his hand, and Ruff just threw herself at the couple and hugged both of them. Hiccup finally found his voice, "You know we probably wouldn't be here without Astrid's bravery. She was the one who wiped the guy out, and stopped him."

Astrid grinned modestly at him, "I was only finishing up what you started."

He lovingly grinned back at her, the first time he had allowed his face to relax during the whole discourse, "See? We make a good team, you and I."

She kissed him, and said softly, "Yes, we do."

Ruff smirked, "Ah! Young love! You two so belong together!"

Hiccup didn't take his eyes off Astrid. "Couldn't agree more!"

Fishlegs cleared his throat, "Well, we had better be off, and leave you two alone. We'll see how you both are tomorrow, okay?"

Snot whined, "Huh? But we just got here! I don't wanna….." but a sharp nudge to the ribs from Ruff, silenced him. "What was that for?" he complained.

Ruff nodded at the two on the couch, who were clearly in their own little world.

Hiccup waved his hand distractedly at their friends, "Yeah sure! We'll see you all tomorrow. Bye!"

The gang let themselves out the front door, Snotlout continuing to complain.

-oOo-

When Stoick came home a few hours later, he found Astrid curled up in Hiccup's arms on the couch, the tv still running. Both were fast asleep. Stoick just chuckled at the sight, turned off the tv, then covered the pair with a blanket. He turned off the light before silently leaving the room.

At the doorway he turned back to gaze with concern at the pair.

"Goodnight, my children. Stay safe."


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews! It's nice to know someone's enjoying my story! More to come!**

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Early the next morning, Hiccup woke up slowly. He felt groggy, but his lids were too heavy to open just yet. His shoulder felt stiff and sore and he wondered if he had slept funny last night. Then his sleep-laden brain started to realise something else. There was a heavy warmth along one side of him. He cracked open one eye, to find himself on the couch in the living room, with a blonde girl curled up against his chest. A blanket was half on their laps, the rest of it having fallen to the floor.

Hiccup felt quite disorientated. Why was she there? Did they fall asleep watching a movie? He peered blearily over at the clock on the wall. No, it said fifteen after six, and it was definitely morning. Did they sleep here all night? How come his dad didn't wake them up?

He observed the sleeping blonde. She seemed to be lying at an awkward angle, which he was sure was really going to hurt. He tried to adjust himself so that she would be a little more comfortable, but he ended up disturbing her so that she shifted and woke up. When she moved, pain immediately shot through her neck. Sitting up with a groan, she grabbed at the sore muscles with her hand, only to have pain shoot through her knuckles too, as her bruised and battered flesh objected to the sudden movement.

Astrid stared at Hiccup in confusion, her hair pulled free from its usual neat braid, and wisps of it floating around her face. She had sleep lines imprinted on one side of her face where she had slept against his chest.

She appeared so innocent, so cute when she was half asleep. He smiled over at her affectionately, and his heart did a small flip, although she seemed just as confused as he was about their situation.

Then he noticed her bandaged hand. The smile dropped from his face as he remembered the previous day's events, the moments flashing across his mind like a badly run fast forward movie. He contemplated his own bandaged shoulder and hand with horror as he remembered that he had been on the verge of losing Astrid yesterday. The sickening feeling of dread filled him up till it nearly overflowed. He swallowed it down with great difficulty, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Astrid was quite confused as to how she had ended up sleeping on Hiccup's chest all night. She rotated her shoulder, her face contorting in pain as her muscles continued to twinge in protest. She felt the grazed skin over her knuckles pull tightly when she rubbed her neck. But the previous day's events were very clear to her.

She saw the dawning horror on Hiccup's face as he started to remember, and it worried her. She watched as he took some calming breaths, holding her own while she waited for him to slowly relax. Finally, she breathed out her own pent up emotions as he gained control over himself, and tentatively smiled down at her. He was okay. For now.

"Good morning, beautiful! Did you sleep well?"

She rubbed her sore neck, "I didn't wake up, if that's what you mean. Sleeping on you might be fun for a while, but not for all night! Ow! That hurts!" she cried as another shot of pain ran through her neck.

"Turn around," he instructed her, spinning his finger in a circle in the air. She did so, her back facing him as she tucked one leg under her.

Hiccup used his good hand to massage the crick in her shoulder, Astrid stretched out her neck to allow him greater access. She had to admit it felt good, and she let out a grateful sigh.

"Better?" he queried, with a soft smile.

"Yes," she sighed again, her eyes closed blissfully. "Don't stop."

Having him massage her shoulder and neck felt like such a nice intimate moment, that she allowed her thoughts to drift slightly, to imagine what it would be like to have his hands elsewhere on her body. The thought brought a blush to her cheeks, and she had to mentally shake herself to change her thoughts. She felt like a giddy school girl with her first crush and she was a little astounded with herself that Hiccup could do that to her. The same Hiccup she had been best friends with since they were kids.

Hearing her sigh as he massaged her sore muscle gave Hiccup a sense of satisfaction that he could have that effect on her. He liked making her feel good. But when she started to move her shoulder around, he knew that he had released the knot enough for her to feel mobile again, so he slowly stopped. But before he released her, he leaned forward and kissed a spot on her neck, where it gracefully curved to meet her shoulder. She shuddered. He grinned and planted a few more delicate, teasing kisses along her neck up towards her ear.

Astrid arched her neck even further, her eyes closed in delicious anticipation. Goosebumps flushed along her skin, and she felt a delicious knot in the pit of her stomach, spreading its glow upwards. She felt like she was being charged with quiet flashes of electricity for every kiss he landed on her. She sighed and shuddered again, loving the feeling and not really caring about anything else at that moment, except for the touch of the man she loved.

Hiccup got quite a buzz from it as well, feeling her response under his ministrations. But he knew it had to stop before things got out of hand. Neither of them were ready for anything more. Their change in relationship was still new, and they were keeping things steady. So he gave her a final kiss, and a final rub with his thumb, before gently patting her upper arm to let her know he was finished.

She turned back around to face him, her face flushed and her eyes shiny.

"Thanks for that. It was…nice," she said hesitantly.

He reached up to brush the loose hair away from her face, "Anytime," he spoke gently. She smiled in response, that same blast of electricity coursing through her one more time at his tenderness. His hand dropped back into his lap.

"So," she asked. "Can you remember how we ended up here?" she indicated the couch, while she attempted to get her hair under control.

He scratched his head before leaning back and raising his good arm over his head, stretching out his legs and chest as he did. He noticed Astrid eyeing him off, as the movement pulled up the hem of his shirt and revealed a few inches of his bare abdomen underneath. He smiled to himself again, making the stretch last a little longer than necessary. He liked teasing her in this way. It felt good that she desired him, and he wanted to savour every moment.

But he had to come back down, and so did his shirt. He turned towards her, "The last I remember was after the gang left and we sat down to watch a movie. We must have just crashed after all the excitement yesterday," he concluded with a shrug. "I'm guessing dad must have found us asleep and decided to cover us with a blanket and leave us here." He indicated to the blanket which had long ago fallen completely to the floor.

"But why didn't my parents ring me, when I didn't come home?" she wondered.

Hiccup had the answer for that one as well. "I suppose dad rang them first, and told them we were out like a light, and he didn't want to disturb us."

"Correct, correct and correct," came a deep voice from behind them. The pair jumped, turning around to stare at Stoick, who was smiling at them from the hallway.

"Dad! How long have you been there?" asked Hiccup cautiously. How much had his dad seen?

"Long enough," he boomed with a twinkle in his eye. Hiccup blushed furiously and Astrid stared down at the floor, embarrassed.

Stoick just laughed at the two people he loved the most, glad they were here feeling a little shy, rather than… He stopped the thought in its tracks. No! He did not want to relive those terrible moments from yesterday. They were here in front of him, both so vitally alive. That was all that mattered.

Hiccup muttered, "Aren't you supposed to be at work already?"

"Yes I am, son. But there's been a few things going on while you two were sleeping," he was all brisk and business like again.

"What things?" asked Hiccup warily.

"The press have been hounding me since yesterday, wanting to know all the details of your little flight. They know you are my son, and have come up with a whole load of theories and stories over why you were targeted for this little ' _adventure'_." He spat the last word out, obviously thinking it was anything but an adventure.

Hiccup and Astrid gaped at each other in surprise. This was news to them.

"And the police have also been talking with me. They know that _man's_ sister has been helping him," he emphasized the word 'man', showing how he felt about it. "But they haven't been able to locate her yet. So they are asking us to keep an eye out for her. They don't know how dangerous she could be, but they want you to be careful, in case she comes looking for revenge."

Stoick faced his son in a very sombre and grave manner. "I don't want you two to take any risks, okay? First of all the press will be in your face every chance they can get. Second of all, there's a nutter's vengeful sister out there. Until they find her, I want you two to stay here, or under someone's protection, at all times. Do you hear me?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to complain, but his father cut him off.

" _DO YOU HEAR ME?"_ he boomed, in a voice that demanded attention.

"Yes, dad," muttered Hiccup, knowing it was useless to argue with him.

"I'm sending Gobber over later today, and I've asked your friends to keep tabs on you as well," continued Stoick.

His frustrated son just rolled his eyes. Stoick glared at him, "Hiccup, I'm deadly serious. I…I...I can't go through that again," he stammered. He closed his eyes and leant forward to grip the back of the couch, suddenly seeming to shrink in front of them, his worry and concern overwhelming him for a moment. He took in a few ragged breaths, attempting to calm himself down.

Hiccup and Astrid eyed each other in alarm before turning their attention back to Stoick. They were completely shocked to see this seemingly indomitable man, so crushed and completely helpless. They had been so absorbed in each other, they hadn't truly considered what he had gone through.

Hiccup got up and went over to awkwardly place a comforting hand on his father's shoulder, a position he'd never really found himself in before. "It's okay dad. We're safe now. We won't go anywhere without a bodyguard. We promise."

Stoick slowly stood up and nodded, clamping a hand on his son's shoulder. "Thank you, lad."

Astrid spoke up, "I'll need to go home to my parents, sir. When should I do that? Plus what about uni?"

Stoick turned his attention to the girl on the couch, "I spoke to your parents last night. They agreed that it would be best if you stay here for the time being. It would be much easier to keep track of the two of you, if you are together. They will bring some things over for you later on. I know you've got enough clothes here to last you in the meantime."

This was true. Astrid kept a few of her things in the spare room, for when she needed to stay over and look after Toothless while Stoick and Hiccup were away. She stayed here on a semi-regular basis, so being here with Hiccup didn't worry her too much. She was secretly excited about doing so, as she'd never really stayed here at the same time as him.

Stoick continued, "As for university, I rang them yesterday. They were understanding about the whole situation. I told them you'd contact your teachers today to make arrangements to study from home. So you can keep up with your studies until this all blows over. It'll keep you two busy as well. Don't want you sitting around bored, planning up ways to get into mischief."

His eyes twinkled as he said it, but the two felt like they were in kindergarten again, being caught out for causing trouble.

Stoick laughed at the guilty looks on their faces.

"Just stay out of trouble till Gobber gets here, okay?" he laughed again, patting Hiccup on the shoulder with his beefy hand.

"We'll do our best sir!" replied Hiccup, tongue in cheek.

Stoick turned to the black wolf who had been lounging on the floor in front of Hiccup and Astrid since the night before. "Toothless! I expect you to keep these two well-guarded. Do you hear me?"

Toothless lifted his head from off his front feet, and stared straight at Stoick. It seemed to all of them that the canine was saying, " _I will guard them with my life_."

"Good boy," nodded Stoick, and said his good byes to them before leaving for work.

After the front door had closed behind him, the two looked at each other.

"What do think about that?" Hiccup asked finally.

Astrid shrugged her shoulder, "Your dad certainly seems to be taking this all seriously."

"Yeah, but he could just be doing the whole 'over-protective' parent bit."

"Maybe, but we don't know what the police have told him. Do you think Heather is really capable of going psycho on us? I mean, she didn't look like too much the day I saw her," frowned Astrid.

"Who knows? Maybe she's got backup to provide the muscle for her. I guess we'll find out at some point. Here's hoping the police manage to catch her, so we can escape from the 'parental protection plan'."

Astrid wrinkled her nose, "It sounds a little like we're the ones on house arrest. You know, the crims go free and the innocent go to jail."

Hiccup thought about it, "Huh! I guess it does." He stood back and fold his arms across his chest. "So, m'lady. What would you like to do on your first day in prison?" He tried to sound serious, but couldn't disguise the smirk and the twinkle in his eye.

Astrid covered her mouth to hide a sudden yawn, then stretched out on the couch. "Well, I can't seriously do prison unless I've at least had a shower and a change of clothes. Then I want to try some of that prison breakfast. Got any bacon and eggs!"

Hiccup grinned at her, "Yeah, there's plenty of food in the pantry. With a man mountain as a prison guard, we have to keep the larder fully stocked!"

Astrid stood up and waved her hand carelessly at him, as she walked towards her room. "Okay, you be chef while I shower. Then I'll take over while you shower. Deal?"

Hiccup headed towards the kitchen, "Deal! See you in ten!"

"Ten? Thirty? I'll see you when I get out." Her voice drifted from the other end of the hallway as she moved casually towards her room.

Hiccup just chuckled to himself, as he started preparing for breakfast. This was going to be an interesting few days, when they would have no one's company except for each other. Plus a guardian or two. It was almost like being married. Hiccup blushed at the thought. They'd only just started dating and hadn't even gotten serious yet, but he would be lying if he said he'd never thought about being married to Astrid. This would be like living the dream, at least for a short time.

He had breakfast sorted by the time Astrid reappeared, refreshed after her shower and with a fresh change of clothes. She was dressed in her running shorts and singlet over her crop top. She waved Hiccup away from the kitchen so she could finish setting up breakfast while he headed in for a quick shower. By the time he came back out, Astrid had breakfast set up on the table with cups of tea and toast to enjoy with their bacon and eggs.

Rubbing his hands together, Hiccup took his place at the table. "Looking good Astrid! I'm starving! We missed out on dinner last night, so I hope we made enough!" He reached out to grab a piece of toast.

Astrid lightly smacked his hand away from the food. "Give thanks first," she reminded him. Hiccup obediently put out his hand for Astrid to hold, as they bowed their heads and he gave thanks for both of them. Looking up, he smiled. It was such a 'family' thing to do, and it made him feel closer to the woman beside him, enjoying the food they had prepared together, giving thanks for all their blessings, just like any regular married couple. He watched her thoughtfully, thinking about the future possibility of being just that. It was going to be a _very_ interesting few days.

They entertained themselves during breakfast, Astrid nearly snorting into her food when Hiccup made a face on his toast with the bacon and the eggs. Toothless managed to convince them both to share some of their booty with him with just a look. They laughed and enjoyed each other's company with breakfast stories from their respective families, as they enjoyed a hot cup of tea to wash their food down. It was nice, and Astrid was enjoying the _domesticity_ of it all. She watched him as he waved his knife and fork around as he talked. She watched as he carefully cut his food before savouring every mouthful. She watched as he sneaked a few pieces of bacon to his faithful shadow, and she watched as he regarded her with half closed eyes, sated and satisfied, his long fingers wrapped around his mug of hot tea.

Astrid lent back into her seat, patting her full stomach. She sighed, "Well that really filled a hole. I feel like a carpet snake now, ready to curl up and digest."

Hiccup nodded his agreement. He checked his watch and was surprised to find it was after eight o'clock in the morning. "Well, the uni will be open now. Why don't we contact the office and organize to get some work emailed in. If we start early enough, we'll have some work to do for this afternoon."

Astrid groaned, "Boy, you sure know how to kill a mood!"

He smirked at her, "How's this for another mood killer? Now we need to do the washing up," he indicated to all the dirty dishes lying over the table and the kitchen bench.

Astrid brightened at the prospect. Finding an excuse to work close beside him sounded like her idea of heaven. "That's more like it!" she chortled, earning a look of amusement from Hiccup. She jumped up to fill the sink with hot, soapy water and splashed in the first few dishes.

Suddenly Toothless jumped up from the floor, his body rigid and pointing towards the front door. Hiccup noticed immediately. "What is it bud? Have we got visitors?" A loud banging came from the front door along with some muffled yells.

Astrid froze and looked at Hiccup, worried. "Who could that be?"

Hiccup quickly approached the front entrance and checked the video monitor to see who was out there. He heard another yell, this time much more distinct. "Hiccup! Let me in! And hurry!"

Hiccup quickly yanked the door open to let Gobber in, but had to slam the door shut again behind him to keep out the collection of reporters waiting there, all shouting questions at him and waving their digital recorders around, flashing their cameras.

Gobber yelled at the door, "Get out of it, ya pack of wolves!"

He turned to look at Toothless who was standing behind them. "No offense, Toothless. You're much better behaved than that pack of cannibals."

Gobber turned casually towards Astrid, who had gone back to the washing up. "Ah, Astrid! Turning you into a domestic goddess is he? Must be Hiccup's next challenge, eh? You two will be married before we know it, I wager!"

"Gobber!" exclaimed Hiccup. Astrid blushed.

"Ah, don't git yer skivvies in a twist. Just stating the obvious. Now, have you two left any breakfast for me? Or have you eaten it all?" he demanded, looking over the breakfast remains hopefully, rubbing his hands together. Or hand and false hand.

Hiccup smirked at him, "No, we ate the lot. Toothless got the rest."

"That wolf gets better fed than some humans I reckon."

Hiccup eyed the larger man's rotund belly. "Not as good as some of us," he teased.

Gobber lifted his hand, as if he was about to backhand the brash teenager. "Getting cheeky there lad? Recovered from yesterday have yeh?" he lifted one eyebrow, not at all offended.

Astrid wiped her hands on a towel and walked over to slip her arm through Hiccup's. "We're working on it, Gobber. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

He grinned at the pair. He'd known Hiccup since he was a baby and had quite a soft spot for him. It had terrified him yesterday to see what was going on, but he'd had confidence the boy would pull through. When Stoick had asked him to keep an eye on the two of them, he had jumped at the chance. Now he admired the beautiful couple in front of him and knew they were going to be okay. He grinned. It wasn't often he got time to spend with his favourite people and he was going to make the most of it.

"I'll have some of that bacon and egg on toast, and a hot cup of coffee to wash it down!"


	12. Chapter 12

**This story is mostly written, so I intend to put up a few chapters at a time, while I frantically complete the ending, and also my other story. But if there is a delay, due to life getting in the road of writing, I will be back!**

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Gobber stayed with them for a couple of hours before he had to get back to work. It was always an interesting experience talking with him. He was not shy at letting you know what he was thinking, and he was always to the point. It usually left his audience embarrassed or astonished, or just completely flabbergasted.

There had been a few knocks on the door while he had been there, and each time it was the press trying to get an interview with Hiccup, who suddenly was the most wanted man in television history. Gobber answered the door each time and told them exactly what to do with their story. Hiccup and Astrid stayed inside and cringed. They muffled a laugh together and wondered what Stoick would have to say about _that_ kind of publicity.

When they turned the tv on, the footage of the plane kept replaying over and over, along with a few different theories on why they had been kidnapped, ranging from drug smuggling to terrorism, to a love triangle. Gobber had guffawed at that one, slapping his meaty hand on one thigh while the young couple had gaped at each other in shock. "Are you serious? Really?"

After Gobber had left, they contacted their teachers to get their courses emailed to them, although they weren't really interested in doing any study that day. So they watched a movie instead, eating popcorn on a blanket they had spread out on the lounge room floor. When they had attempted to walk out to the mail box to collect the mail, they had found themselves under the scrutiny of the waiting news reporters. So they quickly grabbed the letters and hurried back to the house, throwing the mail on the table.

Sure enough, on the news later that day came footage of the pair of them in their front yard, Hiccup's tall frame and messy auburn hair in full shot, while he had his arm firmly tucked around the frowning blonde beside him, doing his best to keep her out of the camera's way. They had tagged him as the ' _Handsome Hero'_ , which made Astrid laugh and Hiccup groan and roll his eyes.

She had teased him mercilessly about it, until he finally started a cushion fight with her which had become quite fierce. Astrid had shrieked and ran through the house, with Hiccup in hot pursuit, Toothless getting involved in all the excitement too. Hiccup had cursed when he fell over the black wolf, and Astrid had been quick to take advantage of the situation and pummelled him with her cushions before running away again, laughing hysterically, cushions waving in the air.

Toothless had jumped all over his boy, licking him nonstop while Hiccup tried to fend him off, but still ending up completely covered in dog slobber. Hiccup had complained about 'kicking a man while he's down', but had finally managed to get back up, although he was very dishevelled from all the rough treatment. Astrid had attacked again and ran away but Hiccup hid behind a door, so when she sneaked past looking for him, he had grabbed her, picking her up of the floor and dumping her on the couch, Astrid yelling wildly. He had swung some cushions at her while she laughed and yelled 'no fair!' and put her arms and knees up to protect herself against the onslaught.

Hiccup had paused in his pillow war to catch his breath, and she had taken the moment to attempt to get up off the couch. But he wasn't about to let her go, so he had leapt up to land on her in a full body slam against the couch, except he held himself up above her on his hands and knees. He paused there, gazing down at her flushed and excited face underneath him, both of them panting with their exertions. Her hair was in a complete mess and Hiccup decided she had never looked more beautiful.

Astrid gazed up at him, hovering over her, inches away from her. She watched as his deep green eyes turned darker with desire, and she found her body starting to hum with the nearness of him. The laughter in her throat died away, replaced with something more passionate, more serious. She held her breath as he slowly tilted his head down to reach her lips with his own. He kissed her slowly, savouring her, tasting her as he held his body above hers, Astrid responding in kind.

Finally his arms were unable to hold him up any longer, and he groaned and released her lips before attempting to flop beside her. But Hiccup had underestimated the size of the couch, and he fell off the seat onto the floor instead with an "Oomph!" Astrid rolled onto her side and peered over the edge of the couch at him, "Are you okay?" she giggled. He was lying flat out on the floor with his arms spread out wide, huffing and puffing.

Toothless was on his stomach beside them, and he wiggled over to Hiccup, his tongue already flicking out to lick his master. Hiccup pushed him back with his hand, satisfying the wolf with a pat instead. Astrid giggled at him again, and Hiccup's eyes flicked back to her face with an evil grin on his face. "What are you laughing at, miss?" he demanded. Before she had a chance to answer he had grabbed her faster than she could imagine, and pulled her bodily towards him, sliding her off the sofa onto the floor.

Astrid yelped as she found herself unable to resist his strength, and braced herself for the fall, but ended up hitting him in the thigh with her knee. He jerked up at the pain and grunted, but refused to let her go. She wasn't in any hurry to leave, though. The feelings flowing through her body as she lay over him, nestling in to all the lumps and grooves of him, were really messing with her head. She could see in his eyes, he was in a similar predicament.

She pulled back a little so she could gently trace the outline of his lips with her finger, just barely connecting. He closed his eyes and shivered, her touch like icicles on his skin. She brushed her fingers across his temple, easing his fringe back from his face, pushing her fingers through his hair. He sighed and held her slightly tighter, enjoying the sensation of her touch. She traced her fingers across his full eyebrows, his defined nose, and sharp jaw, absorbing everything with her eyes, wanting to remember every line, every freckle, every dip, every valley. He lifted his lashes and gazed at her with obvious affection, his iris's so dark and wide she felt she was about to fall in and never be found again.

Astrid leaned in to give him a gentle kiss, but just before she could reach him, the doorbell rang, shattering the intensely intimate moment. Astrid groaned and flopped her forehead down on his chest with a thump. He just grinned and gave her a comforting hug instead. "Time to get up," he whispered to her, as the doorbell rang again.

She refused to let the moment go straight away, and she pinned him down as she raised herself up on her hands and knees over him. Gazing at him for a moment, she dropped a quick kiss on his lips before levering herself up to her feet. She offered her hand to her prostrate lover. He grabbed it, but nearly toppled her over on the floor with him before she braced herself, as he pulled himself back up into a standing position.

The doorbell rang again, and Hiccup muttered as he walked over, "Yeah, yeah! I'm coming. Hold your horses, will ya!" He yanked at the door to open it with a scowl on his face, but quickly changed it to one of surprise and embarrassment.

"Oh! Mr and Mrs Hofferson! I'm sorry…. Ah!... Won't you please come in?" he stammered.

They glowered at him as they pushed past him, and he closed the door behind them with a heavy sigh.

"Mum! Dad! What are you doing here?" Astrid called out in surprise. She saw her parents silently raise their eyebrows as they pointedly noted the state she was in. Looking down at herself, Astrid blushed and crossed her arms defensively across her chest. Both of them were clearly dishevelled, their hair and clothes all messed up and rumpled. She waved her hands around the room, indicating the loose cushions that were all over the floor.

"Uh! We were having a cushion fight," she explained lamely.

She knew it looked bad. But to her surprise, she saw them glancing at each other, their eyes sparkling, before they broke out in laughter. Astrid was relieved, as she glanced over at Hiccup, who merely grinned nervously as he shuffled his feet on the floor, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Her parents didn't stay long. They had brought her some extra clothes and items she would need, plus her laptop and study books. They hadn't seen Astrid since the day before, so they were keen to make sure she was okay. They were worried about the danger that held them both captive in Hiccup's house, but they knew that she was probably safer here with him than anywhere else. Plus they weren't excluded from visiting both of them, and they weren't that far away. After admonishing them both to be careful and look after each other, they left.

After her parents had left, the two flashed a look at each other, before scanning around the room at the state of the house and bursting into laughter. They quickly tidied up the mess they had made before straightening themselves out. If Stoick had walked in on this mess, he probably would have been less than enthusiastic about it. And if their friends had walked in…they knew they wouldn't have heard the end of it for a very, very long time! What else are friends for except to make your life a living misery?

Hiccup remembered the mail that they had collected earlier and forgotten about, and he went to check it. He flicked through the envelopes. Bill. Bill. Junk. Bill. He paused when he found an envelope marked with his name and address on it. There was no stamp which was unusual. He flipped it over but there were no indications as to where it came from. He started to open the envelope when a loud crashing noise from the front door startled him, and he dropped the letter.

He walked over to the front door and cautiously checked the video monitor, but there was nothing there. Although he soon heard something.

Two familiar voices were yelling at each other on the other side of the door. Hiccup pulled a face and sighed before opening the door to Snotlout and Fishlegs, who were piled up in a mass of arms and legs on the door step.

"What are you doing down there?" he started to ask, but then decided he probably didn't really want to know. "Never mind,…are you staying there all afternoon, or are you gonna come in?" he invited grudgingly.

Snotlout grumbled, "Not cool, man! Not cool!" as he brushed himself off, and straightened up his vest.

Fishlegs muttered, "Look, I said I'm sorry, okay?" He turned to Hiccup next, "It's just that I…" but he stopped when Hiccup held up his hand, "I _really_ don't wanna know, okay? Just come in."

The two young men ambled morosely into the house, and Hiccup asked straight away, "So what are you two here for?"

"We're here to babysit you two troublemakers," Snotlout began. Fishlegs interrupted with a frown, "Stoick asked us to come by and keep you company for a while. So we're all taking it in turns to be here. It just happens that we are the first ones."

Snotlout grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, and I got stuck with Captain Clumsy Fishbreath here,"

"I said I was sorry, okay!"

Snotlout grunted, then turned to leer at Astrid, "I could have looked after you babe. Why don't you leave this loser and come stay with a real man, at my house. I'll keep you safe." He tried to fling his arm around her shoulder, but she quickly repelled him, gripping his fingers and bending them backwards till he complained loudly.

Astrid walked over to Hiccup, who was fuming, and slipped her arm through his. "I _am_ with a real man! Maybe you should take notes and learn something, Snotlout. If you remember, he _did_ actually save my life yesterday."

Snot just waved his hands dismissively at her, "Details, details. But he doesn't look like _this_ , does he?" Snot flexed his muscles at them.

Astrid gagged. "No, he doesn't," she said, disgusted. She smiled kindly up at her boyfriend, "He looks much more handsome." Hiccup blushed. Fishlegs giggled and Snotlout growled. He stomped off to the kitchen. They could hear him opening and closing doors in there. "Where's the food?" he demanded.

"Duh! In the fridge! Where else would it be?" snipped Astrid. She smacked her forehead in disbelief, before trudging into the kitchen behind him. Hiccup could hear her opening the fridge to show the full shelves. "What do you call all this? Chopped liver?"

Snotlout snorted, "That's not food! That's just vegetables! I mean _real_ food. You know…fried chicken, burgers, chips…Real food."

Fishlegs hesitated, "I _told_ you we should have grabbed a bite to eat before we came."

Snotlout complained, "Well, how was I to know there would be no food here."

Hiccup sighed in resignation, "How about we just go down to the Burger House and get some burgers, okay?"

Snotlout headed towards the front door, "Best idea yet! Come on! Let's go!"

Fishlegs spoke up, "Uh! Aren't we supposed to stay in the house with them?"

Snotlout snorted, "They'll be with us, we're the protectors right? Nothing will go wrong! Come _on!_ Last one in the van is a loser!"

Fishlegs turned towards Hiccup, waiting for his decision. He sighed, "I'm sure it will be fine. We'll just grab the food and eat it back home, okay? Toothless can come with us."

"If you're sure," Fishlegs said hesitantly.

Astrid put her hand on his shoulder, "Let's just go. We won't be long, we can't possibly get into too much trouble in a few minutes, could we?"

"I…I guess not."

Hiccup reassured him, "If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

 **Okay? We'll see...**


	13. Chapter 13

The four young people piled into Snotlout's white van. It was just a regular courier van, but Snotlout had added in extra seats so he could carry passengers. There was also room for Toothless, so he came too.

Snotlout drove around to the Burger House, parking on the opposite side of the road. The group of friends hopped out of the side of the van, and walked across the road to order their burgers and fries. Toothless came too. They didn't usually allow animals inside, but Toothless was always accepted by the staff. He was a minor celebrity in his own right with them. How many places could say they had a wild wolf come to visit them?

When Hiccup and Astrid walked in, there was an immediate reaction from the staff and some of the regular customers when they were recognized. The couple had been all over the news, and everyone had heard about what had happened, and were either concerned about them, or just plain curious.

Fishlegs and Snotlout found themselves being forced backwards as the young couple were mobbed. Hiccup did his best to keep things neutral and vague, and assured everyone they were okay. Finally Snotlout decided he had been ignored long enough, and started pushing through, "Back up! Back up! We're here to get our burgers and then go. We gotta keep them safe from the nutter. So we'll order our food now, okay?"

The crowd gasped, and the three friends turned to stare at Snotlout, not believing what he had just said. "What? Is that not what's happening?"

They were finally able to order their food and escape the curious questions. They headed back to the van with their arms full of fried food, ready to hop back in for the trip home. Darkness had started to fall, and the first few stars were now visible in the sky. Fishlegs and Snotlout had already jumped into their seats, with Snotlout currently searching through his bag of food. He groaned, "They didn't give me extra hot sauce for my chips! Man! I hate that! I _need_ that extra hot sauce!"

Astrid just shook her head, "I'll get it. Just keep your dainty butt there, okay?" She turned to walk around the front of the vehicle.

Hiccup was trying to load Toothless into the van, but the wolf was refusing to go in. "What's wrong, bud? Why won't you get in?" The wolf started to fight against Hiccup more violently, trying to shake the boy off him.

Astrid stepped out to the edge of the road, looking to see if it was safe to cross over. There was no traffic anywhere, only a white van parked further down the road. She focused forward and started walking across.

Toothless was getting frantic, and Hiccup was really concerned. He glanced over at Astrid, then down the road, as he noticed wide-eyed, that the white van had accelerated from its spot, and was heading straight up the road…..towards Astrid.

Hiccup let go of Toothless and moved towards the girl instead. "Astrid!" he yelled.

She stopped and turned in the street to wonder why he sounded so panicked, and as she did she noticed the van accelerating towards her. The engine could be heard screaming as it powered up through the gears. The lights on the van suddenly flashed on, blinding her momentarily. It was gaining speed rapidly and it seemed to have locked its targets on her! Her eyes widened and her heart leapt into her mouth, as the world seemed to stop and everything moved in slow motion. She felt like her legs had welded themselves to the earth and she couldn't get them to move. She tried to run, but she couldn't move fast enough. It was almost upon her! The van lights were impossibly bright. She closed her eyes waiting for the sickening thud as the vehicle punched through her, but…

Hiccup had screamed her name when he realised what was happening. In a split second he saw in his mind's eye the car colliding with Astrid and that realisation hit him like a punch in the guts, spurring him into action. He let go of Toothless and pumped his arms, using his legs as springs to propel himself forward, towards the girl he loved. He was going to do all he could to keep her safe or die trying. He saw her face frozen in fear and shock as she tried to run and deliver herself out of harm's way, but she had no momentum. She was going to connect with the van, he saw her screw up her face in anticipation of the hit.

Astrid screwed her eyes tight as the van came so close she could read the badge on the front of it. She kept running in the vain hope that it would miss her, but she very quickly felt a massive shock go through her as she was flung bodily through the air, landing with a solid thump on the bitumen. The air was knocked from her lungs when she landed heavily, and her head impacted on the road with a loud crack, knocking her senseless. A small trickle of blood oozed from the wound on her head. With a final sigh, her world turned upside down then went black. Her body went limp, her eyelids closing over clouded blue eyes.

"Astrid!" Hiccup had screamed, seeing her lifeless on the ground. He had started running towards her when he realised what was about to happen, with the intention of pulling her out of harm's way. He had been moving faster than she had, but in the final moments he knew he didn't have enough time, that he wasn't going to reach her before it happened. Then suddenly, he felt power surge through his veins and he had launched himself at her, his leg muscles tightening up from the extra burst of adrenaline, to kick off from the ground and fly through the air, towards his target.

He had grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into his chest, and rolled with her to the ground on the other side, his prosthetic leg taking the hit from the van's headlights instead. He kept her tight against his chest, trying to protect her from the blow of landing, but she had hit her head against the ground anyway, and had gone out like a light. He'd landed heavily too, but Astrid had taken the full force. He grunted in pain when he tried to get up, his bruised and battered flesh complaining loudly about the extra demands he'd suddenly made on them.

The van squealed its tyres off into the distance, rapidly disappearing out of site and around the corner further away.

It was gone.

Hiccup tried again to get up, to check on the girl who had fallen out of his arms and was lying on the ground in front of him, still and silent as death. His fear rose to suffocating levels, as he stared at her back and the blonde braid stained with crimson. She lay on her side facing away from him. All the sounds around him were muted except for his own heavy heart beat and the ragged sounds of his own breathing.

He could hear a lot of thumping noises coming towards him as he stretched out his hand to touch her. Before he could reach her, he found himself being forcefully pushed back onto the ground, surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of hands. They blocked his view of Astrid, and blocked out his view of the stars. He tried to yell, but it seemed his voice had deserted him, and all he could do was cough out her name, "Astrid!" In the background he could hear a long, mournful wolf cry. It cut right through him, making him shiver.

Familiar voices were talking to him, "It's okay, Hiccup. We've got her. You saved her. The ambulance are on their way. We'll get you both into hospital soon, okay?" It was all he could do, to give a small nod before closing his eyes and relaxing back onto the road. He felt many hands poking and prodding him gently and voices talking to him quietly, but none of it made any sense to him. He was intensely relieved she was getting help. He tried to relive the events that had just happened, but it was still a complete blur. He wondered if this was just a nightmare, if he was going to wake up at home any minute now. But the pain pulsing through his body was telling him that this was real. Very real.

Before long, he could hear the ambulance siren drawing closer and louder. Soon an unfamiliar voice broke into his jumbled thoughts, "My name is Terry, I'm with the ambulance. Can you tell me your name son?"

Hiccup mumbled his name. He found himself under the administration of very proficient hands, efficiently checking him for injuries. The ambulance officer asked him where it hurt the most, and Hiccup had to pause to think. _Everywhere_ hurt right now, but he managed to pinpoint the worst locations, one of which was his left leg. He knew he had hit the van with his leg, and asked carefully, "Do I still have my leg?"

"Well, your left foot is gone, but the rest is still there."

Hiccup kept his eyes closed as he grinned at the dry humour, grateful that he hadn't done any more damage to his leg.

"Your false foot has taken quite a beating, so we've had to remove that," he was further informed. "So I'm afraid you won't have a leg to stand on for a while."

Hiccup snorted a laugh, and replied, "We'll get on just fine, you and me." He got a chuckle in reply.

Hiccup felt his eyelids being pulled up and bright light flashed into his eyes. He screwed up his face.

"Ugh! What's with the flash burn?"

"Just need to check if your brains still working. All seems to be good."

Hiccup blinked a few times to chase away the stars, and stared up at a friendly, slightly older man looking down at him.

"Can you repeat that to my dad, please? I'm sure he will question that later."

Terry chuckled at him, "Can't say I haven't heard that one before!" as he carefully placed a neck collar under Hiccup's chin to keep his neck immobile.

Terry and his partner lowered the ambulance stretcher beside Hiccup, warning him what they were about to do as they prepared to slide him onto the trolley. Hiccup gritted his teeth as pain roared through him while they moved him onto the stretcher and he had to muffle a yell. His breathing sounded heavy in his ears as he tried to gain control over the pain. It felt odd when they strapped him in before hoisting the trolley up on its four wheels, jiggling him.

"How's Astrid? Is she okay?" Hiccup asked worriedly, now that the trolley was at a normal height. He was jostled again when the trolley hit the edge of the ambulance, before rolling in and being locked into position.

"It seems like she's taken a hit to the head and has been knocked unconscious, but otherwise she looks fine. You did a good job of saving her, from what the people here are telling me. You're a hero!" Terry told him, as he climbed in after him.

"Yay me," said Hiccup sarcastically.

"People have been telling me that you are the _handsome_ hero who's all over tv at the moment. Didn't realise I was going to meet a celebrity on my shift tonight!"

"Yeah, well don't believe everything you hear on tv," Hiccup muttered trying to twist his neck to see past him towards Astrid.

"Hiccup, I need you to keep your neck still okay? We put the collar on you to stop the rubber-necking you're trying to do. We don't want to risk any further injuries, okay? Serious now."

"Are you trying to spoil all my fun?" grumbled Hiccup, obeying anyway. "Just tell me she's okay, please?"

"She's okay. All her vital signs are good. She was knocked out but she's awake now. She'll be going to the hospital in the other ambulance, but once the doctors have checked her over properly, they'll be able to tell you what's happening. Will you be happy with that?" Terry asked kindly but firmly.

"Yes, sir," Hiccup grumbled.

"Good man! Now if you've finished complaining, there's some friends here to see you."

Fishlegs and Snotlout stuck their heads into the back of the ambulance, their faces tense with worry. "Are you okay, Hiccup?"

"Fine, never better," he said sarcastically.

It went over their heads, "Oh good, cause _man!_ That was close! I didn't know you could move so fast! She would be bug splatter on their wind screen if you hadn't grabbed her!"

Hiccup winced. "I didn't need to hear that," he said slowly.

"We've already called your dad and Astrid's parents. They're going to meet you at the hospital, alright? We'll take Toothless home for you. We had to put him in the van, 'cause he's been going nuts!"

Hiccup was worried about his wolf. He wanted to reassure him so he would settle down.

"Can I please talk to Toothless for a moment?" he requested to the ambulance officer. "I need to let him see me… that I'm okay, otherwise nobody will be able to go near him," he begged.

Terry hesitated. It wasn't usual practice to let animals in, but the young man before him was so desperate and sincere, that he decided that it wouldn't hurt…just this once.

On his okay, Snotlout had opened the van door to let Toothless out, and the canine had raced straight to the ambulance and jumped into the back to a very surprised ambulance officer.

"Woah! That's a wolf! I thought you were talking about a dog!"

"Yeah, not like I haven't heard _that_ one before!" he said drily, repeating Terry's earlier comment.

Toothless excitedly licked his hand, his arm, his face while Hiccup ran his hands through the shaggy fur, murmuring to the anxious wolf, "It's okay Toothless. It's okay. I'll be home soon, alright? You just need to let Snotlout and Fishlegs look after you for now. I'll be home as soon as I can."

Toothless seemed to have consoled himself a little about his boy's condition, so he was willing to be led back to the van by Snotlout and Fishlegs and taken home.

Hiccup travelled in the back of the ambulance to the hospital, where he anxiously asked about Astrid. He was taken to an empty cubicle, the door closed behind them.

Suddenly the door to his cubicle burst open. Hiccup grimaced. This was not going to end well.

"Hiccup!"

"Dad!"


	14. Chapter 14

In the end, the most serious injury between them had been Astrid's concussion. They both had some fantastic bruises and gravel rash and they were going to be very sore for quite a while, but they had both gotten off very lightly, considering. Hiccup's prosthetic had been damaged and needed repairs, which he had grumbled about. It had been his favourite one, too. Now he had to use the false foot which he didn't like so much. It was too uncomfortable and not as flexible.

Hiccup had been given the 'all clear', but Astrid had been advised to remain in hospital overnight so they could keep an eye on her in case of any complications. If she got through the night okay, then she would be allowed back home, or back to Hiccup's house, later the next afternoon. Hiccup had chosen to stay beside her despite his pain and exhaustion. Gobber had brought in his spare leg so he was at least able to move about, despite the bruising.

His dad had arrived at the hospital shortly after they did, and Astrid's parents not long after. _That_ had been a conversation that had not gone well.

Snotlout and Fishlegs were in the dog house, especially Snot. It was his tantrum that had led Astrid to be in the situation she was in. Hiccup shook his head remembering. Stoick had taken the two of them outside the hospital, but everyone could still hear him roaring at the two boys from deep inside the emergency department. Fishlegs and Snotlout had rushed in to say bye, but the look of absolute terror on their faces would not leave them anytime soon.

The police had also arrived to ask Hiccup and Astrid about what they could remember. They seemed to think it was an accidental hit and run, with the driver either too drunk to realise he had run into something, or too frightened to pull up and check on them. They had collected statements from all the witnesses at the Burger House, and just needed the young couple's comments. They promised to keep an eye out for the van, but assumed the driver had long since disappeared.

Finally all their visitors had gone, leaving just the young couple.

Astrid lay back on her hospital bed, with the back slightly raised. Hiccup relaxed into a recliner chair beside her, an ice pack wrapped around his swollen stump which was raised up on another chair. They regarded each other for a few moments.

"How are you managing?" Hiccup asked quietly.

"You know….thumper of a headache and sore all over. What about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Once all these bruises turn yellow and green I'll be able to blend into the forest and surprise Toothless."

Astrid tried to laugh, but it hurt too much. "Don't make me laugh. I get spots before my eyes," she commanded.

"Sorry!" he grinned.

She thumped her hand on the bed beside her, "No you're not. Don't lie!"

Hiccup regarded her as she lay back on the bed, with one bruised and bandaged arm covering her eyes against the light, and the other resting on the side of the bed. He then surveyed himself, sprawled in the recliner, grazes and bruises evident everywhere and his swollen leg up on the chair with a bag of ice. He said dryly, "Well, we look quite the pair at the moment, don't we?"

She snorted, keeping her eyes closed, "Yeah, a real pair of debutantes. You should take a picture in case we forget how dashing we look tonight. Something to post up on the wall."

Hiccup thought about that, chewing on his lip. "You know, we haven't actually been on a real date yet."

Astrid lifted her arm to turn and glance at him, but soon regretted that decision. She screwed her eyes shut against the blinding headache that throbbed behind her eyes and laid her head back down on the pillow. "Just for future reference, don't let me look at you either. That also hurts too much."

"So your head explodes if I make you laugh or if you look at me?" he said, pretending to be offended.

She didn't deny it. "Yep, that about sums it up! The only consolation I have right now, is you're just as stiff and sore as I am."

"That's what you get for doing your best impersonation of road kill," he muttered.

She stifled another painful laugh. "Oww! If you keep this up, I'll have to mug you," she complained.

"You and whose army?" he challenged. "You can't move any more than I can at the moment."

She just smiled a knowing smile. "Yeah, but that won't last forever. And I have a _loooong_ memory."

"What is it with you and violence?" Hiccup grumbled, but smiled to himself anyway. His eyelids started to droop as the long day and night started to take effect.

"It's a good way to communicate…Hiccup?" she called, when she received no response.

"Still here," he replied drowsily.

"I have to ask. Is it always going to be like this with you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about.

She opened her eyes carefully, testing whether her headache would flare up again. Then she turned to look at the sleepy auburn haired man, lounging on the chair beside her bed, her arm dropping from her forehead.

"In the few days since we've decided to become an official couple, you've saved me from a madman on a plane, scared me half to death by dropping us out of the sky, then you saved me again from a murderous hit and run driver. Not to mention the near drowning experience before that."

"Then don't mention it."

She continued as if he hadn't interrupted, "What's your next rescue going to be? And on top of that, _apparently_ we haven't had a real date yet. I'm starting to feel like this is some test of my sanity that you've cooked up, to make me feel like some sort of girly girl around you, swooning for my hero!"

Hiccup's eyes flicked opened and he lifted his head off the recliner to gaze back at her with his deep green eyes. His voice was gentle, as he sort to reassure her. "First of all, Astrid. _Nobody_ would make the mistake of calling you a 'girly girl', whatever that is supposed to be. Second of all, I think you have been incredibly brave. What you did in the plane to save _both_ of us by knocking that guy out, was incredible. I don't think too many other girls would have done it. And now here you are suffering worse than me, and you don't even complain! And third, having to save you from some psycho lunatic was _not_ my idea of a good time! I've had more heart attacks than hot showers this week! And as for the missing first date?...Well, we'll just have to work on that when _both_ of us have moving limbs."

His head flopped back onto the chair, as if that small conversation had depleted the rest of his meagre energy. His eyes closed again as he sighed.

Astrid smiled gently at him, "Well, _most_ of our limbs anyway!"

Hiccup raised his hand in the air and did a circle motion with his finger, "Hardy ha ha! Everyone's a comedian! Let's make fun of the kid with the missing limb!"

Astrid shifted carefully back onto the bed, "You're no kid, Hiccup. _That_ I know."

He smiled at her words, his pride slightly inflated.

"Now go to sleep. It's gonna hurt worse in the morning," she told him.

His smile dropped, "Don't I know it. Something to look forward to," he muttered drily.

She extended her hand past the edge of the bed towards him, stretching her fingers out in invitation. He heard her move and cracked open one eye. Smiling sleepily, he reached out to grasp her hand with his own before closing his eye again.

"Thank you for saving me, again, Hiccup," she said so very quietly, he had to stop and think if it had been his imagination. "I still love you, by the way," she added a little louder.

He chuckled to himself, "And I still love you, despite all the trouble you've caused!"

Astrid jerked his fingers, causing a small burst of pain in his arm. "So you should," she finished.

He just laughed. "Ow!"

-oOo-

Back at their home, Stoick trudged through the front door of his house, his footsteps heavy. He sighed as he dropped his briefcase on the floor and slowly pulled his jacket off, before flinging it over the back of a chair. Toothless padded over to greet him and Stoick leaned down to give the wolf a few tired pats.

"They're okay, Toothless. Just a bit sore and sorry. They'll be home tomorrow, okay?"

The wolf gave a couple of licks on his massive hand, before turning back to flop down on the rug in front of the couch. He appeared despondent, as much as a wolf could. He knew things were wrong, and he wasn't happy about it.

Stoick scrubbed his hand through his hair, then reluctantly headed into the kitchen to find something to eat. He had no appetite, which was unusual for him, but knew he had to eat something. This past week had been more draining than he cared to admit. First the plane hijacking when he thought he was watching his son and Astrid die, then the police telling him about the sister of that madman. Then the phone call, telling him Astrid and Hiccup had nearly been killed by a hit and run driver. He frowned and his face darkened with anger at that fool Snotlout, who had managed to persuade the young couple to leave the house for a _burger_ of all things! Sure, Hiccup had tried to take responsibility for it, but he still blamed Snotlout.

He remembered the look on the kids faces when he had stripped them both with his words outside the hospital. How _dare_ he be so arrogant and foolish as to put his son's life and Astrid's life in danger like that! He had _warned_ them NOT to let the two leave the house! Sometimes, he wondered what Hiccup saw in his so-called friends.

Stoick sighed, no use crying over spilt milk. What was done, was done. The two most important people in his life were still alive, albeit a bit damaged. Nothing that time wouldn't fix. He just hoped the police managed to find this troublesome sister fast. Between that danger and the press hounding him all day long, it was practically impossible to get any work done.

He absentmindedly noticed the pile of mail that had been abandoned on the table earlier that day. He flipped through it. Bills and more bills. And some junk mail of course. He picked up the junk mail to throw into the rubbish when another letter fell out. It was addressed to Hiccup so he went to put it to one side, when he noticed something odd. There was no stamp on it. Why would there be a letter with no stamp?

He turned it over to look for a return address, but there was none. It also seemed that someone had attempted to open it, but had been interrupted. He turned it back to the address again and frowned at it, as if he expected the words to rearrange themselves and spell out the message inside. He found himself increasingly disturbed over this letter. The police had told him the attack on Astrid tonight was probably just a coincidence, a hit and run. It was dark, the van didn't have its lights on until it was too late. The driver probably got a fright and fled.

Stoick didn't make it a practice to open his son's mail, but it seemed very important right now, to open _this_ letter. A single piece of folded paper came out of the envelope when he split the envelope. He opened it up with steady hands, but they soon started to shake as he read the message within.

 _Hiccup,_

 _You took him away from me. I just found him and you took him away. You will have to know what that feels like. Now I will take her away from you. Then it will be your turn._

Stoick dropped the letter as if it were on fire. That hit and run was no accident. They had been watching! His heart stopped and the blood in his veins turned to ice as he realised Hiccup and Astrid were by themselves at the hospital.

Defenceless.

He knew what to do. He pulled out a business card from his top pocket and picked up the phone. He dialled the number. "Hello Detective? This is Stoick. I'm afraid there's been an extra development…"

-oOo-

The next morning, Hiccup and Astrid woke to find themselves under police guard at the hospital.

Hiccup muttered to Astrid, "This is new! I wonder what this is all about?" Astrid merely shrugged. She had no more idea than he did.

Later that afternoon, Astrid was again checked by the doctors and given the all clear to go home, with a long list of instructions on what to do following a concussion. Hiccup read through the list thoroughly, he didn't want to take any chances with her health. He rang his dad to arrange a ride home from the hospital, and Stoick arrived soon after. The bruised and battered young couple couldn't hear what was being said, but they noticed Stoick talking to the police officer outside their room. He shook the man's hand before coming inside.

"What was all that about?" Hiccup immediately demanded, standing up to meet his father.

Stoick seemed stricken. "Uh, something came up last night," he admitted nervously.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What came up?" he asked cautiously.

Stoick eyed Hiccup, as if he were trying to judge something. "Did you notice a letter for you at the house, yesterday?" he asked him.

Hiccup frowned as he tried to think back. It was only 24 hours ago, but felt like a lot longer. He remembered starting to open a letter, but getting interrupted. "Yeah….I think there was one, but it was strange, cause there was no stamp," he said slowly.

"That would be the one," confirmed Stoick. "It seemed strange to me too, so I….uh….opened it for you."

Hiccup's eyebrows shot up. Stoick hastily added, "Not that I have a habit of opening your mail, Hiccup. You know I wouldn't do that. But this one seemed strange, and there had been so much going on, that I decided it might be a good idea to check."

Hiccup paused for a moment, then nodded. His father had never interfered with his mail before, and there _had_ been a lot of stuff happening lately. He had no issue with it.

"Turns out it was a good idea," Stoick regarded the two of them gravely. "It was a threatening letter, presumably by that madman's sister," he informed them carefully.

Hiccup and Astrid glanced at each other in shock. "A threatening letter?" Hiccup questioned. "What do you mean?"

Stoick sighed heavily, as he reached into his coat pocket to pull something out. It was a piece of paper, slightly crumpled from being shoved in there earlier. "This is not the original, mind. The police have that. This is just a copy."

He hesitated before placing it in Hiccup's outstretched hand. Hiccup walked over to Astrid so they could read it together. Hiccup frowned as he read the words. Astrid covered her mouth with her hand and gasped in shock.

"So last night….was no accident?" she questioned Stoick.

He shook his head, his full red beard swaying across his chest as he did so. "No, it doesn't look like that way now, does it?" He was stricken for a moment, "I rang the police and asked them to set up a guard for you here, until I could get you home. Just in case…." He left the last words unsaid as his voice trailed off.

Hiccup continued it for him angrily, "…in case that lunatic tries it again, you mean!" His voice was low and fierce, and his fingers curled into fists, the paper crumpled up in his hand.

"How _dare_ she try to hurt Astrid? How dare she compare losing her insane, criminal brother who tried to kill us _both,_ to losing Astrid, who has never done _anything_ to hurt her! He's in prison where he belongs! He's still alive! But she tried to _kill_ Astrid! She should hope that I don't find her first….cause if I do…Ugh!" He threw his hands up in the air in anger and frustration, as he paced the small room.

Astrid stretched out to place a restraining hand on his arm. "Please Hiccup! Don't!" she begged, worried that he might do something hasty and get himself hurt too.

Hiccup looked up briefly at her words, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed her anxious expression. He leaned forward to lift her hand off his arm, and then held it with both of his own. "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid," he assured her.

"Please just leave it to the police, okay Hiccup? It's their job to find her! We just need to stay out of the road till then. Okay? Hiccup? Promise me you'll leave it to them!" Astrid pleaded anxiously with him. They'd already met with enough danger. They didn't need any more.

Hiccup hung his head in thought, then slowly raised it to look back into her blue worried eyes. "Okay, I promise." He left it at that. He didn't want to make any further promises that he might not be able to keep.

They left to go home shortly afterwards, all three quiet on the way home. Astrid just asked briefly if she was to continue staying at their house, and Stoick nodded she was. He didn't want to let either of them out of his sight. They walked stiffly back into the house, still both very sore from yesterday when they had hit the pavement….hard. Hiccup's stump was still swollen and tender, and he was limping quite badly on his least favourite prosthetic. He had to lean heavily on Stoick just to get inside. His little 'pacing exercise' he had done earlier at the hospital, had undone any good he had achieved overnight with the icepacks.

They were greeted by an enthusiastic Toothless, who was almost beside himself with glee, spinning in circles and jumping up to get as close as possible to Hiccup, who only stayed upright due to the firm hand of his father on his back.

"Now, now Toothless. Let your boy sit down first," Stoick chuckled to the excited wolf.

Stoick helped Hiccup into a comfortable position on the couch, and stepped back to allow the canine full access to him. Toothless promptly leapt up, placing his front feet in Hiccup's lap, much to Hiccup's chagrin.

"Oomph! Toothless! Way to hurt a man's dignity," he muttered in a strangled voice, pushing the wolf away. But Toothless was not to be deterred, and immediately jumped up again. This time Hiccup was ready for him, and caught the wolf's front paws before they landed on his lap again.

Astrid stifled a laugh, and Stoick winced in sympathy.

Toothless persisted, his whole body wagging as he gave Hiccup a thorough licking. The young man rubbed his hands through the black fur, talking soothingly to his wolf, until at last Toothless was satisfied, plopping himself down at the feet of his master.

A feminine voice sounded over Hiccup's shoulder, "Is it safe to join you now?" she asked with a hint of mirth.

Hiccup just rolled his eyes, "Yeah, he's done."

Astrid sat down carefully beside him on the couch, eyeing off the wolf warily as he raised his head at her, giving her his best doggy grin.

"Yeah, you're happy now that you've got your boy back, aren't you Toothless?"

Just then Stoick wandered in front of them with a footstool and a bag of ice.

"C'mon lad, get that leg off and rest it with some ice. You're too sore to keep it on."

Hiccup was about to protest, but the look on his father's face stopped him. In actual fact, it would be a relief to take the prosthetic off. It was slightly uncomfortable at the best of times, but right now with his leg so bruised, it was practically unbearable.

"Let me!" Astrid insisted, pushing herself to the front of the couch where she could reach him more easily. She waved his protesting hands away and with deft fingers, undid the buckles holding the leg in place. She removed it, handing it to Stoick, as Hiccup flopped back into the couch with a groan.

She carefully lifted his stump onto the footstool that Stoick had placed in front of him, and then took the bag of ice the big man offered. She balanced it precisely over the swollen limb, making sure it wouldn't fall off.

Her job completed, she sighed and tucked herself under Hiccup's arm that he had stretched out as an invitation to her. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, her eyes closed. A soft kiss brushed the side of her head, and he murmured, "Headache?"

"Yeah, building up to quite a doozy I think," she answered back, her eyes still closed.

"Here lass, looks like you could do with some of these. You too, Hiccup," the imposing figure was back in front of them as he held out some painkillers for both of them, along with some drinks to wash the tablets down with.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but lifted his arm from Astrid's shoulders as he accepted the medication and the drink. Astrid took hers as well with relief, but grimaced as she tossed her head back to down the tablets.

Hiccup noticed, "Not big on tablets are you?" he observed.

She coughed a little. "They always seem to get stuck in my throat," she replied hoarsely, taking another sip to wash the offending items down.

She coughed again, but another gulp of fluid seemed to right the wrong suffered by her throat and she was able to talk normally again, as Hiccup rubbed her back.

"Thanks, dad."

"No thanks required lad. We need to get you two up and running again," replied his father gruffly, his true emotions just barely contained under his austere façade.

"Aren't you heading back to work?" Hiccup queried, as his father headed towards the kitchen to begin preparation on the evening's meal.

"No son, I'll be working from home for the rest of today. Can't let you two fend for yourselves now, can I? Neither of you are fit to do much beyond sit on the couch and watch tv anyway," he observed bluntly.

Astrid was lying back on the couch with her arm flung over her eyes to keep out the light and to help ease the throbbing in her head. Hiccup glanced at her and his own swollen leg and sighed. No, they really weren't fit for much right now. He knew they needed some help, but he felt guilty dragging his father away from his work, even if it was for just an afternoon.

"Don't worry lad, I've got it covered. I don't want you two left alone at any time, now we know that there's a target painted on your backs. I'll be here till the morning, then I've hired someone to act as bodyguard while I'm at work. You might know him, he's Eret's son."

"You mean Eret?" Hiccup was confused by this revelation.

"Aye, that's him," Stoick confirmed, as he took a sharp knife to the vegetables in front of him.

Astrid murmured from under her arm, "So Eret, son of Eret is going to be our bodyguard?"

"Aye," stated Stoick.

"Nothing odd about that," she responded drily.

Hiccup was still flabbergasted by the news that his father had hired a _bodyguard_ for them, and that it would be Eret! He of the _nearly-took-Astrid-away-from-him_ fame.

"Well, this will be awkward," he muttered to himself. Astrid heard him and grinned.

"What makes you think that, oh wise one?" she whispered.

He glanced at her and just harrumphed instead.

* * *

 **Eret's back!**


	15. Chapter 15

**First of all, I would like to thank all those who gave really nice reviews for this story. Unfortunately, something's gone wrong somewhere and I can't reply to any of them. They're only showing up in my emails, but no where else. So I'm very sorry about that. In the meantime, I hope you like the next few chapters. I'm sure you've all figured out by now who was in the van!**

* * *

Hiccup was lying on his bed, deciding whether or not it was worthwhile getting up just yet. He'd been listening to his father banging around the house in his usual not-so-quiet morning routine, preparing himself for work that day. It was still only 6 am, but Hiccup had done enough resting. Stoick had sent both Astrid and himself to bed early last night. Astrid went without complaint, as she was still suffering from nasty headaches and the light seemed to bother her a lot. She'd had another dose of pain medication before she went, so Hiccup hoped her head would start to settle soon. Unfortunately, headaches were one of the side effects of concussion, and there was no guarantee as to when they would stop.

Hiccup still felt guilty about that. He felt she wouldn't have hit her head so hard if he'd managed to pull her into his chest a bit closer. Astrid had told him a headache was a small price to pay for surviving, and thanked him profusely for just getting her out of harm's way. She wasn't about to hold a grudge for a small head injury. He wondered if all the noise from the kitchen was keeping her awake too. She didn't normally stay overnight with them, only when they were both absent. Hiccup was used to the noise and could usually sleep through it all, but not today.

His leg was still a little swollen and nowhere near ready to go back into a prosthetic. His father had sent his damaged foot to Gobber to be fixed. Hiccup would have liked to have done the repair work himself, but knew that would be impossible for now. So he was forced to use crutches for the next few days. Which just made daily life a little bit more of a struggle, especially if your girlfriend liked to shift said crutches until they were just out of his reach. That had been her favourite trick in the past, but he hoped she was feeling too sore to try that again for the moment.

Hiccup heard an indistinct knock at the front door, before his father made his way through the house to answer it. He briefly wondered who would be knocking at this hour of the day, but then remembered that Eret was coming by today to act as 'bodyguard' while Stoick was at work. Hiccup groaned in frustration. This was _not_ going to be his idea of fun. Having that mountain of muscle hanging around with Astrid was not going to do his confidence any favours. His relationship with Astrid was still brand new, as they adjusted to the different roles they had with each other, and he did not want some Adonis hunk showing up, reminding Astrid of what she _didn't_ have.

Hiccup decided it was time to get up, he was too irritated with his own thoughts now anyway, and staying in bed wasn't going to make that any better. He preferred to move around and find some other distractions instead. Throwing his blankets to one side, he raised himself up and dropped his legs over the edge of the bed. Deciding there was no point in getting completely dressed, he grabbed a pair of shorts off the chair beside him and pulled them on over his pyjama boxers. He leant forward to feel around on the floor for his crutches, finally locating them and pulling them out from under the bed.

Holding them together in one hand, he shuffled forward to the edge of the bed and used them to stand up, a move fluid and well-practised after all these years. Balancing on one foot, he separated the crutches and placed one under each arm, ready to leave. Opening the door to his room, he peered out to gauge where his father and Eret were. It seemed they were still at the front door, as he could hear their voices coming from that direction. He searched down the hallway to the other end of the house, towards Astrid's room.

He could see the door was hanging open, so he headed in that direction instead, his crutches making a soft _click_ sound as he travelled. He arrived at Astrid's door and pushed it open slightly wider. He could see her form still in the bed, her blonde hair undone and spread out on the pillow like a golden fan. She was lying on her back, but her face was turned away from him, her chest rising and falling in a steady pattern as she slept.

Hiccup couldn't help the strong desire to see her sleeping face, so he pushed the door open wider still, to allow him and his crutches passage into her room. Clicking over to her bed, he stood beside her, gazing at her relaxed features, noticing that some of her colour had returned.

He also noted the multiple bruises she had sustained over her arms and shoulders, most of them already a deep purple colour, along with a small graze on her cheek. A bandage covered the much larger graze on her forearm and he knew she had several on her legs and back as well.

He had teased her yesterday that she looked like a patchwork quilt with all the dressings she had on. She had kindly reminded him of his own collection. He frowned slightly now, and observed his own dressings, the ones he had from the plane disaster, and now the new ones from their latest adventure.

He studied her face again. Her lips were slightly open as she slept and he mentally traced around her mouth, over her nose and across her closed eyelids, committing her features to memory. Something melted in his chest and he felt a warm glow as he surveyed her. What would it be like to wake up beside her every morning, to be able to see her in her most unguarded moment? He knew that would be something he would never tire off, and he was grateful for this rare opportunity.

Astrid suddenly shifted, and she rolled towards Hiccup. He froze, wondering what she would think of him standing over her like this. Her eyelids fluttered and opened, her azure blue eyes staring directly at him. Hiccup gave a tiny wave and a small smile, hoping that she wouldn't be too upset.

Astrid was surprised to find Hiccup in front of her. First of all, she thought she must have been dreaming and still asleep. But something in her brain let her know he was real, and he was in her bedroom. At the Haddock house, not her own. She was too comfortable and too sleepy to raise any ire over this unexpected situation, so she covered her mouth to hide a yawn instead.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey yourself," he replied, his smile gaining depth. "Sleep well?" he queried warmly.

"Don't know, haven't finished yet," she mumbled again, her eyelids drooping closed.

"How's your head?" he asked.

Astrid frowned. "Okay I think," she answered.

She stifled another yawn and asked slightly louder this time, her eyelids blinking, struggling to stay awake. "What about you? Sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he responded with a gentle smile as he watched her slowly gaining alertness.

Astrid felt the urge to stretch her stiff limbs, but had to do so carefully. Even then her face contorted with the stinging and discomfit that greeted her from complaining muscles and grazed skin.

He noticed her features twisting in pain, and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

She flicked her eyes open to gaze at him, her eyes still unfocussed. "Yeah. Just stiff and sore."

He chuckled, "Know the feeling."

She snuggled further into her pillow, her eyes closed once more. "What are you doing up so early, anyway?" she mumbled into the pillow.

"Couldn't sleep. Dad was making too much racket. Plus I think our illustrious bodyguard has arrived already."

Her eyes shot open, "Eret's here? Already?"

"I think so. I heard dad answer the door, so I'm guessing it's him. Especially as dad's getting ready to go to work, and he was adamant about us not being on our own….Party pooper," he said the last bit under his breath.

Astrid grinned. She shuffled away from the edge of the bed, making room for him and patted it, offering him a seat beside her.

"What are you doing standing around like that anyway? Sit down and get comfy with me," she invited.

He hesitated for a moment, but sat where she indicated, the bed still warm from where she had laying.

"That's better!" she exclaimed. Rolling over a little so she could maintain eye contact with him in his new position, she asked, "So what's the plan for today? More near death experiences? You know, I think I have some skin left that's not covered in bruises or grazes."

Hiccup wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes at her, "You're starting to sound like me! I think sarcasm suits you."

She gave a cheeky grin, "I had a good teacher!"

He gave a soft chuckle, lifting his hand to brush back some loose strands of hair from her face. "How about we just start with breakfast."

"Mmm, sounds good. Bacon and eggs would be nice, thank you," she licked her lips, her stomach choosing that moment to add its input by growling.

Hiccup laughed again, "Sounds like breakfast it is!" He ran his hand lightly down her arm and over her waist, pausing to give her hip a slight tap.

"Come on sleepyhead! Hop up and you can help me get some food. I don't know if our honoured guest knows how to cook, so it will be up to us to stagger through it."

Astrid pouted, "What's the good of him then?"

Hiccup just laughed again and made to get up. "See you in ten. Don't be late!" he warned.

Astrid pulled the sheet over her head, and gave her muffled reply, "Spoil sport!"

-oOo-

A few minutes later, Astrid had managed to pull herself out of bed, pausing long enough to throw one of Hiccup's old shirts on over her singlet and shorts pyjamas. The oversize Tee slipped over one shoulder, and Astrid self-consciously pulled it back up, before it slowly slipped off again. She decided to ignore it.

Hiccup was standing with Eret, supported by his crutches, when Astrid approached. Toothless was beside him, sizing up the new arrival, who was rather nervously eyeballing him back.

"Good morning Astrid, lovely to see you again," Eret greeted her, keeping one eye on the wolf.

She frowned slightly, "Morning," as she went to stand beside Hiccup, placing a possessive hand on his back.

Hiccup turned to the blonde beside him, "How's the head?" he murmured.

"We're good, so far," she replied, eyeing off their visitor.

"Ahh….so are you guys an official couple now then?" Eret asked hesitantly.

Hiccup beamed and turned his attention back to the woman beside him. "Yes, we are," he confirmed softly, gazing at her with so much adoration it was impossible for anyone to miss.

Astrid rubbed his back and smiled shyly back at him, leaving Eret in no doubt that they were in love.

"Ah, well…congratulations then, I suppose?"

"Thank you," replied Hiccup awkwardly. "Anyway, we were heading into the kitchen to stir up some breakfast. Care to join us?" he asked politely.

"Sure!" Eret replied enthusiastically. "I've already had breakfast, but Stoick asked me to help out as much as possible, seeing as you've both got….limitations… for the moment," he eyed off Hiccup's missing leg, and Astrid's bandages.

Hiccup kept his face neutral. He hated being at a disadvantage, and hated having to rely on others for help. Especially 'others' like Eret.

"Well, if you want to help, who are we to argue?" said Hiccup flatly. He led the way into the kitchen, with Astrid following. Leaning one crutch up against a cupboard, Hiccup used the other to negotiate the kitchen, with Astrid right behind him, collecting the items required for their breakfast preparation. She went for the lower items, and he stuck with the higher ones. They had prepared plenty of meals together in this kitchen before, so they knew how to work together as a team, even with Hiccup on crutches.

Once the food and cooking utensils were located, Eret stepped in and took charge of the actual cooking, asking them how they preferred their eggs, while Astrid and Hiccup retired to their seats on the other side of the bench curious as to how Eret would handle a spatula. Turned out that he knew how to cook…and how to talk.

He cooked and prattled on about aimless things while they sat beside each other on the other side of the bench, feeding themselves and each other bacon and eggs on toast, occasionally slipping pieces to Toothless who sat between them on the floor, happy to be with his favourite people.

When Eret finished cooking, he started cleaning up, despite Hiccup's invitation to join in on some of his culinary handiwork. "No, no! That's for you two," he admonished. "But I will join you for a mug of tea, if that's okay?"

Hiccup nodded, polishing off the last of his breakfast before Eret swiped the plate from under him.

At last the dishes were cleaned and stacked up on the sink to dry. Hiccup and Astrid would have to put the dishes away later, as Eret didn't know where they belonged.

An awkward moment passed, as Eret poured himself a cup of tea and sat opposite his two charges.

"So….I hear someone's got it in for you two," he started off carefully.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yeah…something like that. What's dad told you?"

"A fair bit actually. The story about the plane hijacking is still on the news, so I heard all that before…although some of the reasons _why_ were pretty fascinating…"

Hiccup and Astrid pulled a wry face at each other, "You mean the drug-smuggling gone wrong? Or maybe the airport takeover bid? Or my personal favourite….the love triangle," Hiccup deadpanned.

Eret sat back in surprise, "Ok, maybe I haven't heard _all_ the stories…"

Astrid glanced at Hiccup wide-eyed, "You realise that was only two days ago…" she started.

"Don't remind me," he replied grimly, hands wrapped tightly around his mug. "It seems like a life time ago."

She nodded in agreeance. A lifetime of hurt and pain in only two days was difficult to comprehend.

"Surprisingly, not much has been said about the…'incident'…from last night, though," Eret informed them.

"Seems the police want to keep this one quiet for the time being. Although the media would have a field day with the 'Handsome Hero' saving the day again, wouldn't they," Eret almost laughed. Hiccup just scowled more fiercely into his mug.

Astrid patted his arm, "It's okay. It'll all blow over at some point I'm sure."

Hiccup remembered all the attention they had received from the other diners at the Burger House. He didn't think it would be old news anytime soon.

"I just hope the police find Heather soon. I can live without the attention," he muttered, more to himself than the others.

"I hope so too," Astrid comforted softly, gazing at him warmly, her hand still on his arm. Hiccup glanced at her with a quick, terse smile.

"Well, I'll be here to keep you both safe till they do," stated Eret boldly, holding his arms out wide.

"Yes," said Astrid, suddenly turning her focus to the New Zealander. "How did you manage to end up in the bodyguard business?"

Eret answered without any trace of discomfit. He shrugged, "I look after personal clients every now and again. Word of mouth work mainly."

Hiccup considered him warily, "Aren't you supposed to be a personal fitness instructor? How do you become a bodyguard from that?"

Eret laughed with little humour, "People look at me, and just assume I'm good at beating people up. Having a black belt to my name, just reinforced the message. I got offered some good money I couldn't refuse the first time, and it's just snowballed from there. But I pick and choose my jobs now."

"So how did you end up here?" Astrid was puzzled.

"Dad offered my services to Stoick when he heard you were having some trouble," Eret said with a shrug, drinking the last drops of his tea.

Hiccup asked with a hard stare at the muscled man mountain, "And why did you accept?"

Eret glanced pointedly at Astrid as he answered, "When I knew it was you two, I decided it wasn't a job I could refuse."

Hiccup frowned, his face darkening and his grip tightening on his mug.

Eret turned back with an easy smile to the glowering younger man, "You can be assured, I'm _always_ a professional on the job."

Hiccup appraised the man in front of him, searching for any indication that he might have had an ulterior motive for being here. He couldn't find anything, but wasn't really willing to trust the guy _just_ yet. Especially not after that obvious glance towards Astrid.

He nodded stiffly.

Eret was suddenly all formality, "Now the niceties are out of the way…let's talk strategy…."

The three of them got down to business, discussing the layout of the house, the list of accepted visitors, the existing security system and the time schedules of the three men who would be protecting the couple…Eret, Stoick and Gobber. Eret would be there till late afternoon, Gobber would take over for a few hours till Stoick got home, then Stoick himself would be on duty overnight. Hiccup hated that part. He didn't want to be responsible for his dad losing sleep while he still had responsibilities in his job as Airport Manager. He determined to talk with his father that evening about it.

They discussed all their options for quite a while, until Eret gently suggested they might like to put on some clothes, instead of staying in their pyjamas. Both glanced down at themselves in surprise, then laughed at each other.

Astrid complained with a smile in her voice, "Look at me! You've turned me into a slob!"

Hiccup only chuckled at her, "A very attractive one, I might add. One who's actually wearing _my_ shirt!"

"Oh piff! Like you were ever gonna wear this shirt again," she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"Uhh, Yes! I was! But it somehow disappeared before I could wear it again!"

"Well I've already claimed it, so you can't take it back!" she pouted, her arms crossed over her chest defensively.

Hiccup smiled indulgently, "You can have it. It looks better on you anyway."

Eret had been watching the exchange with an incredulous grin on his face, "So she steals your shirt, and you just let her?" he asked with mock seriousness.

Hiccup turned to him again with a _'Duh!'_ look on his face, "If I know what's good for me…yeah."

Astrid quickly leaned over and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, giving him an impish grin, "Thank you. I love it when you go all mushy on me! You're such a pushover!" She jumped up from her seat and headed back to her room with a saucy twist of her hips.

"Hey! I object to that! I'm not a pushover!" Hiccup protested to her retreating back.

Eret's grin just got wider, "You so are, Hiccup! You so are!"

"Nobody asked for your opinion, now did they?"


	16. Chapter 16

After Hiccup and Astrid had finally gotten dressed, the trio had gone back to discussing strategies in the event Heather tried to target them again. Hiccup had shown Eret all the security measures that they already had in place around the house. With his dad being manager over the airport, security was always going to be extremely important.

Eret had hummed and hahhed about it all, but especially liked the video surveillance at the front door. Although he had insisted on going outside himself and trying to find all the spots where the camera _didn't_ show. Alarmingly, there had been quite a few 'blackspots'. Eret had taken note of all of this.

-oOo-

Later that morning, Astrid received a text from Ruff, ' _Calling you in 5. Be ready, both of you.'_

She showed the text to Hiccup. "What's that all about?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when she rings," he answered noncommittedly.

So they had gotten comfortable on the couch together, waiting for Ruff to call.

And that's where they were, five minutes later, a phone on the seat between them. They had it on speakerphone so they could talk to the gang who were currently at Ruff and Tuff's house.

"Hey guys!" came Fishlegs voice over the phone.

"Hey Fishlegs!" replied Hiccup.

"How's your head, Astrid?" the gentle giant asked kindly.

Astrid gingerly touched the back of her scalp and winced.

"Still tender," she replied. Hiccup gazed at her with worried deep green eyes. She just wrinkled her nose at him.

"Still getting headaches?" Fishlegs asked again.

Hiccup grinned. He could just imagine Fishlegs sitting there with a computer in front of him researching on the internet about concussion.

"Yeah. Mostly when I'm tired. I'm good now though," she reassured them, when she heard noises of concern coming from the phone.

"Are you having any trouble thinking? Or making decisions?" Fishlegs asked again.

"Why?" asked Astrid, startled.

"That can be part of the symptoms of concussion," Fish informed her.

Snotlout's hopeful voice came over the phone. "Hey! Does that mean Astrid could have had concussion before? Cause she clearly wasn't thinking right when she chose skinny Hiccup over all this brawn." They could hear a kissing sound, presumably Snot kissing his own biceps again.

"Uh, NO!" came Astrid's vehement answer, earning her a grateful smile from Hiccup.

"And for the record, that's gross when you kiss yourself!" Ruff's voice could be heard.

"Ruff! Could you do me a favour, and deck Snotlout?" asked Astrid.

"With pleasure!" came the reply. A loud ' _thump_!" could be heard followed by "Oww! What you do that for?"

"Cause you're an idiot, that's why! Maybe I should give _you_ concussion and see if you make _better_ decisions!" They could hear the delighted Ruff fantasising about walloping Snot again.

The sound of a chair scraping came over the phone. Snotlout's voice seemed to come from further away, "Stay there!"

"You're no fun," complained Ruff.

"Thanks Ruff," said Astrid drily.

"No problem! Any time you want to slug Snot from afar…I'm your gal!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and spoke next.

"Why the twenty questions? Are you looking this up on your computer, Fish?"

"Uh, no!" Fishlegs tried to deny, but Tuff's voice cut in, "He is so googling this right now!"

Hiccup and Astrid laughed, and they could hear the others laughing as well, over Fishleg's groans of annoyance and embarrassment.

"I hate you guys, you know that?" he grumbled to the others.

Ruff teased him, "You love us! Don't deny it!"

More grumbling.

"Do you want to become a doctor, Fish?" teased Snotlout.

"What's wrong with that?" the bigger lad asked defensively.

"Uh, you do realise that Doctor's have to deal with blood…you know…the red stuff that pours out of your body when you break it?" Ruff informed him delightedly.

The young couple could hear a strangled sound.

"You okay, Fishlegs?" worried Hiccup.

"Noo…" came a timid voice.

"He's really green right now," a fascinated Tuff informed them.

Snotlout joined in, "It's kinda funny. He keeps changing to different shades of green. You should see it. It's so pathetic!" he laughed.

"Maybe Zoology would be more to your liking," offered Hiccup kindly. He knew Fishlegs had a fascination with studying animals, and that he also still hadn't decided which branch of science to take up.

"What's zoology? Would he have to work in a zoo? Maybe they could put him in the bear cage," asked Snotlout teasingly.

"Maybe they should put _you_ in the gorilla cage…No, on second thought, that would be too unkind for the other gorillas…having to put up with you all day," smirked Astrid.

"Stop that!" whined Snot to Astrid.

"Zoology just means the study of animals…anywhere," Hiccup ignored Astrid's comment, although the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Kinda like what you do? Out in the wild?" Tuff was confused.

"Fishlegs in the wild?" questioned Ruff.

"Fishlegs has always gone camping with us," reminded Astrid.

"That's cause he had too, otherwise he would have missed out," returned Ruff.

"Maybe I'll go study geology instead," mumbled Fishlegs, not keen on being the butt of all their jokes.

"What's that? The study of geo's?" preened Snotlout, thinking he was smart.

"The study of rocks, Snot," corrected Hiccup drily.

"There's plenty of rocks in Snot's head," sniggered Tuff.

"There is not!" sulked Snotlout.

"Hey Fish! Can you cut the rocks out of Snot's head? Then you could be a Doctor-Geologist!" jeered Tuff.

"Guys!" called Hiccup, trying to stop the bickering.

"Yeah…then they'd be no blood, only dirt and cobwebs…" joined in Ruff.

" _Guys_!" insisted Hiccup.

"What?" demanded Tuff, snappy that his favourite pastime of baiting Snotlout had been interrupted.

"How come you guys called us instead of visiting?" asked Astrid, changing the subject.

Hiccup was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"We figured it was safer," came Snotlout's very nervous answer.

"Safer for whom?" queried Hiccup. "Safer for Astrid from you? Or safer for you from my dad?"

"Duh! Safer for me! Why would you even have to ask such a dumb question," snipped Snotlout, as if the answer was already obvious.

"Sorry Snotlout! I should have known…your shallowness knows no boundaries," drawled Hiccup sarcastically.

"It's okay for you," Snotlout whined, "You've got a wolf, a man mountain and Stoick the Vast to protect you!"

"Man Mountain?" Ruff perked up. "Is Eret over there?" she asked hopefully.

Astrid laughed, "Yes, he is!" Hiccup just pulled a wry face, and Astrid nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Oof!"

"What was that? Did you just hit Hiccup? I hope you did!" demanded Snotlout eagerly.

Hiccup ignored the question, rubbing his tender spot and glared at Astrid. She just shrugged, with a gleam in her eye that Hiccup was all too familiar with.

"No fair, Astrid!" Ruff whined down the phone. "You get _Eret_ to look at every day!"

They heard the sound of gagging in the background. Presumably Snotlout.

"Can I come and hang with you guys? Can I?" she practically begged.

Astrid snorted. "I'm not your match maker."

"Who said anything about match making? If I just _happen_ to be there at the same time as him…" the other blonde suggested hopefully.

"Not happening," declared Hiccup firmly. He's here to work…not to be distracted by you."

"Plus, we wouldn't do that to him," smirked Astrid.

"Hey!" objected Ruff, while Tuff and Snotlout sniggered in the background.

"Well, if you're gonna be like that, you can just leave," huffed Ruff.

"Uh, Ruff? We're on the phone…and we called them…" Fishlegs reminded her cautiously.

"Fine…we'll leave. You coming Tuff?" demanded Ruff.

"No way, sis! This is our house!"

"Oh yeah! Hey Astrid. You gotta leave your house," insisted Ruff.

"Why?" Astrid drawled out the word while rolling her eyes at Hiccup, who just shook his head.

"Because…uh, I forgot. But I'm sure it was for something important," she huffed back.

"Aren't they like, under house arrest or something?" queried Snotlout.

"They're under protection. They're not allowed to leave. That's why Eret is there…." corrected Fishlegs slowly, hoping the female twin would catch on.

Apparently that wasn't happening today.

"Ah! Eret! He's so dreamy," sighed Ruff in a haze, totally distracted.

"Annnnd that's where we it call it a day," stated Hiccup, not keen to start up _that_ roundabout again.

"Bye guys! Thanks for the call!" said Astrid cheerily.

"Bye!" from Fish.

"Eret! Call me!" yelled Ruff.

Eret just happened to be walking past at that moment, and became startled when he heard Ruff's voice. He whipped his head around, thinking that maybe she had somehow managed to sneak in. When he realised the voice was coming from the phone, he still didn't relax, but scurried away instead.

Astrid had to hide her laughter.

"Yeah! Whatever!" dismissed Snotlout.

"Seeya!" called Tuff.

"Bye! We'll catch up later," finished Hiccup before quickly hitting the 'end call' button.

The young couple viewed each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Well…that was…entertaining," he said drily, while Astrid continued to giggle.

A moment later, the phone rang again. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other in surprise when they noted who the caller was.

Snotlout.

Hiccup picked up the phone to answer it. "I wonder what he wants?" he muttered.

"Snotlout? Did you forget something?" he asked, putting the speakerphone back on.

"Umm...yeah...I forgot to say...goodbye," he stammered.

"Ah, actually...you did...kinda," Hiccup told him as he glanced over to Astrid, wondering what this was all about. She shrugged. She didn't know either. They could hear that Snotlout was obviously by himself, and not with the others anymore.

"Well...you know...just wanted to say...umm..." he paused, and Hiccup suddenly understood. He turned to Astrid who nodded. She got it, too.

"What, Snotlout? What did you want to say?" asked Hiccup gently.

"Sorry! I just wanted to say sorry, okay? I didn't think any of that would happen, and...I'm sorry!" he said rapidly. Expressing his emotions was not something he had a lot of practice with, but seeing what had happened to Hiccup and Astrid had scared him. A lot.

Hiccup smiled. "Thank you, Snotlout. We know that was difficult for you, and we appreciate it."

"Yeah, well, don't go telling anyone else about it, alright?" he told them roughly. "I don't want them thinking I'm some kind of sap!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and Astrid shook her head. Snot was back! "No, we wouldn't want that, would we?" he told him with a grin.

"Right...well...bye!" said Snotlout abruptly and hung up the phone.

Hiccup sat back, slightly bemused. "Bye!" he told the blank phone.

"Well, what do you know?" asked Astrid, grinning. "Snotlout has a heart!"

-oOo-

Hiccup couldn't help a sense of deja vue, as he found himself once more creeping back into Astrid's room later that evening. He leant on his crutches, and pushed the door open a little wider with his shoulder.

"Astrid?"

"Yeah?" came her groggy reply.

"You still awake?"

"No, I'm lying here dreaming about being awake, cause some dork at the doorway won't come in," she muttered drily, from her position on the bed.

He gave an uneasy quick laugh.

"Sorry about that." He pushed the door open further and click-stepped into the room. He saw her shuffle over on the bed, so he took that as his invitation to sit down beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, as he laid his crutches on the floor beside him. The lights were out, and he couldn't see her features, only a dark, hazy outline of where she lay.

She paused, "I'll live," came her muffled reply. Her arm was back over her head, in an attempt to dull the throbbing headache she had been harbouring since dinner.

The day had started relatively pain free for Astrid. When she had woken up this morning, she'd been fine. Later on, she had found herself enjoying a conversation with Eret about his fitness work, as she hoped to do something similiar in the future. Although he worked with individuals, and she hoped to eventually work with sports teams. She realised she had started warming up to Eret again, in the same way she had at Ruff's party, but had put the brakes on that very quickly when she noticed Hiccup sending black looks their way. She wouldn't do that to him again, especially as she now realised what had been going through his mind at Ruff's party, not that long ago.

The reporters were still hanging around, although not as many as before. They had received more phone calls in just one day, asking for Hiccup to tell his story, than the Haddock household would normally receive in a whole month! How bizarre! Unfortunately, they were all reporters. Hiccup got more and more worked up with every phone call, until he was practically shouting down the phone line. On the last call, he had slammed the phone down hard, and it was easy to see that Hiccup was _seething_ with rage. Eret had offered to be 'secretary' after that, and he had answered all the calls instead, including one from a very surprised Stoick. Hiccup had scrambled to take the phone from Eret and explained the situation to his father. Stoick had agreed that it was a good idea, and congratulated Eret for coming up with it.

Astrid was pretty positive Hiccup had sighed with relief when Eret had left for the day, and Gobber came by instead. She knew Gobber and Hiccup were very close friends, despite their age difference. He could tell Gobber anything, even stuff he would have been reluctant to discuss with his father and she was glad he had an outlet for his frustrations.

Her parents had arrived while Gobber was still there, and her mum had prepared the evening meal for all of them, including Gobber and Stoick. It had been nice to have her mum and dad there with her, doing something normal for a change. She hadn't been home in three days, which was the longest she had ever been away.

But the headache had loomed over her through dinner, and despite her attempts to keep the conversation light and warm, it had hit hard. She had to leave her parents early, so she could go to bed in a dark room, hoping the headache would ease without another dose of medicine. Although she had ended up taking it anyway.

And now Hiccup was beside her, and she was really glad he was there, his warmth comforting her. She rested her hand on his thigh, and he covered her hand with his own, threading his fingers between hers. She sighed.

"Interesting day, huh?" he stated quietly.

"None of them have been boring so far," she pointed out softly.

He gave a strangled laugh. "Noo…they haven't,"

Astrid grinned in the dark, "What about Gobber, hey?"

Hiccup cringed at the memory. "I'm really gonna have to say something to him, aren't I? I nearly fell over backwards when he flat out told Eret to stay away from you!"

"My favourite part was when he threatened him with his hook," she chuckled lightly.

"The look on the poor guy's face _was_ priceless, I must admit," confessed Hiccup.

"Eret probably won't want to come back tomorrow, and you'll have to explain _why_ to your dad."

Hiccup's features twisted into an unhappy frown. That wasn't a subject he wanted to broach with his overly protective father. _'Oh by the way, you know that guy Eret, the one you hired to protect us? Well, he's not coming back in today…cause Gobber threatened him with a hook to keep him away from Astrid for me.'_

"….You know, that's what you get for all those black looks you were handing out to him all day," continued Astrid.

Hiccup was startled. Yes, he admitted to frowning at the guy a few times, but he didn't think she had noticed.

"I was watching you. I knew you weren't comfortable with him. Why do you think I stopped talking to him?"

Hiccup felt a little guilty.

"He really is a nice guy you know. I don't think he really deserves your jealousy," stated Astrid flatly.

"Jealousy?" Hiccup was shocked at the idea.

"Yes, jealousy. And actually I'm a little offended at you," she continued.

"Offended? By me? Why?" he was surprised…and worried.

"Yes," she said softly, dropping her arm from her face to turn her attention to the shadow sitting beside her.

"Because when you show you're jealous like that, it makes me feel like you don't trust me," she rubbed his thigh with her thumb, hoping to let him know she wasn't angry. She just needed to let him know how it affected her.

Hiccup was astonished, "I'm sorry, I didn't think about it like that."

"Why do you feel jealous, Hiccup?" she asked carefully.

He thought about it and struggled to put his emotions into words. "I…I guess I'm worried…that you would look at him and…and decide you could do better," he replied honestly.

"Oh, Hiccup," she sighed. "You don't have to be worried about that. Yeah, sure, he's got huge biceps," she admitted bluntly. She heard Hiccup suck his breath in sharply and continued on, "but he's got nothing over you."

Astrid raised her hand from his thigh, and brushed her fingers lightly down his arm, feeling the slight definition of his muscles there. He shivered slightly at her touch.

"I love _you_ …for your mind, for your caring nature, for all the funny things you do….and for your body."

Hiccup _was_ surprised… and touched by her words. He didn't think his scrawny body would attract anyone. He wasn't really sure what Astrid saw in him.

"Turns out I have a thing for a certain skinny physique," she continued, holding onto his arm with her fingers, using her thumb to trace out the shape of his biceps.

She loved the way he responded to her touch, feeling the butterflies in her tummy flip-flop. She wasn't immune to him, and she wanted him to know that, to reassure him that her love for him was strong and sincere.

"One day, I plan to know the line of _all_ your muscles so completely, I will be able to trace them in my sleep," she was quite forward about it and Hiccup was taken aback, his heart rate quickening as he contemplated what she was suggesting. He tentatively reached out to stroke her free arm. He felt her skin tightening and goose bumps raising under his fingers, and was amazed to think that her reaction was because she loved _him_ , that she _desired_ him.

"I intend to hang around for a long time…so I hope you're prepared for that," her voice was low and husky.

She didn't say the word _marriage_ , but it hung in the air between them. Hiccup wasn't frightened by the idea, in fact it thrilled him that she would contemplate an entire _lifetime_ of being with him. At that moment, the feeling of love invaded all of his senses and overwhelmed him. She _loved_ him! And he loved her! He felt slightly foolish for ever having felt the need to be jealous, when she quite clearly was 100% devoted to him.

He learned forward in the dark, to kiss what he hoped would be her lips. He landed on the corner of her mouth instead, so he repositioned and kissed her again. She kissed him back gently, lovingly. When she ran her fingers over his shoulders and down his back, he shuddered slightly and drew back.

He reached out to push the wayward tendrils of loose hair from her face, gently running his fingers across her forehead.

"I'm in this for the long run, too," he assured her, his voice so gentle and soft she could _feel_ the love pouring from him. "I've loved you for so long and I don't intend to put a stop to that anytime soon."

He leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on her forehead, "Thank you…for everything."

He sat back up and she found his hand, bringing his fingers to her lips for a kiss. "Just remember, Haddock. I love _you._ "

He smiled at her, "Yes, ma'am!"

She gave him a quick slap on his arm before stifling a yawn and covering her face with her forearm again.

"Good! Now about Eret…"

A flare of jealousy started up, but he quickly pushed that feeling back down. That emotion did not deserve any room in his heart any more.

"Yes?"

"I think he really is a nice guy. Maybe _we_ should try to treat him as a friend," she emphasized the word 'we'.

Hiccup nodded thoughtfully. "I think you're right. He _chose_ to be our bodyguard. He didn't have to. And he was very helpful today. He obviously deserves a chance," he finished sincerely.

Astrid patted his arm again, "I'm glad you agree," she replied warmly. "Thank you."

She stifled another yawn, and Hiccup laughed quietly. "I see that it's bedtime for a certain young lady. How about you get some sleep, and we'll see how your head feels in the morning?"

"That would be good," she sighed gratefully. She rolled over in the bed, as Hiccup raised himself back up onto his crutches.

"Good night, Astrid," he called out softly.

"Night," she murmured, already half asleep.

He quietly crept from her room, his crutches making a clicking sound as he walked.

-oOo-

As he exited her room, he found himself face to face with his father.

Hiccup paused in surprise, as Stoick stared at him with one eyebrow raised knowingly.

"Uh, hi dad!"

"Hi son. All okay in there?" his father rumbled quietly, nodding his head towards Astrid's doorway.

Hiccup glanced quickly back inside the bedroom, and stepped further into the hallway, pulling her door almost completely closed behind him.

He indicated to his father to move further down the hall, which the larger man obligingly did.

"Yeah, all good," he finally answered the question. "Headache's still worrying her."

"What about you, son," Stoick probed further. "I noticed you were a bit quiet at the table. Any trouble?"

Hiccup was disconcerted at the question, he hadn't realised he had acted any differently. But of course, his father would notice any changes. And he was probably being more observant anyway, considering all the things that had gone on recently.

"Nuh, I'm good. Just had to resolve something. All sorted now," and he gave his father a genuine smile.

Stoick nodded, "Good to hear that son. Best to air things out quickly before they fester. Lesser problems than this have pulled people apart. Don't let it happen to you, son."

He patted his son's shoulder with a heavy hand, before moving down the hall towards his own room, his parental duty completed for the night.

"Good night, son."

"Good night, dad."

Hiccup stared at his father's retreating broad back in disbelief. He smiled and shook his head, before heading back to his own room, the sound of the crutches loud in the stillness of the night. He had just received his father's two second life lesson, chapter one.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Hiccup was waiting for Eret when his father opened the front door for him. There was an awkward silence as Eret watched him warily, and Hiccup waited for his dad to leave the house. Soon, there was just the two of them.

Hiccup cleared his throat, "Ah, Eret. I just wanted to…you know…apologize to you."

Eret's eyebrows rose high, but he said nothing, waiting for Hiccup to continue.

"I…I wasn't on my best behaviour yesterday when you were…uh…talking with Astrid. And then when Gobber said all those things to you, I wasn't exactly…forthcoming… about stopping him."

Eret nodded slightly, but waited patiently for Hiccup to finish.

"I…we…I mean Astrid and me…were talking about it last night…and …she told me I had not been exactly…receptive of you…since the party at Ruff's place. I know back then she told you we were just friends…and we were…but we hadn't really sorted out our… feelings for each other, and you may have been led to believe that Astrid was…available." Hiccup paused to lick his lips. He felt very strange revealing so much inner turmoil to a man he considered a threat only yesterday.

Eret kept a steady gaze on the nervous young man in front of him, a flash of pain momentarily crossed his features, but he kept silent.

"I mean…we…we really appreciate what you are doing to come help us, and…and we…hope that you decide to stay for a bit longer. I mean…if you were thinking about leaving that is…after, you know…after what Gobber said yesterday. Anyway, Astrid thinks you're a really nice guy, and that it would be great for _both_ of us to…to get to know you a little better…If that's okay with you, I mean," he finished in a bit of a rush.

Eret eyed him off thoughtfully, appraising him.

Hiccup put in a sweetener, "We'll get Gobber to back off. He's a great guy once you get to know him. Just a little…forthright…for those he cares about."

Eret finally grinned. "Well…it seems that the two of you like to attract all kinds of …interesting...people to you. Life is apparently never boring around here. Who would I be, if I refused such an offer as that? I would be honoured to stay."

He bowed to Hiccup with a flourish of his hand, before standing back up.

Hiccup breathed a small sigh of relief, as he accepted the handshake that Eret offered to him. He had done what he had to do and hoped all the embarrassment would be worthwhile, and that Eret would prove to be trustworthy. They really needed their friends right now.

He flipped Eret a wry grin, "Thanks…I think. Although I don't know what that says about you if you think we attract…uhh… _interesting_ people!"

"Touché!"

"As for boring…well, I guess I would have to agree with you there. Although I'm sure we could do with _less_ excitement right now. We still haven't recovered from the last lot. I reckon it will take years off my life!"

"A little dramatic, don't you think?" Eret raised his eyebrow at him.

"Ha! Tell me that on my deathbed, when I die early!" Hiccup retorted.

"Who's dying early?" questioned a feminine voice behind them.

"Hiccup, apparently," drawled Eret to the sleepy blonde in her familiar pyjamas covered by Hiccup's oversized shirt. Oversized on her anyway.

That got her attention. She immediately faced Hiccup, concern and fear written all over her face.

"Why? Are you hurt? Did she send another letter? Did something else happen?" she rattled off so fast that his ears hurt, drawing closer to him to personally inspect him for any new damage.

"No! No! Nothing like that!" he hastened to reassure her while sending a look of annoyance towards the man who had triggered off her anxiety with such a flippant remark.

Eret was alarmed at how quickly and severely Astrid had reacted to what was supposed to be a light-hearted comment. He hadn't realised just how on-the-edge she really was.

"Eh! I was just having a go at Hiccup for how dramatic he was being! No harm meant!" he tried to explain.

The murderous look on her face let him know what she thought about that, in no uncertain terms. He felt the need to back up away from her.

"No harm? No harm?" she hissed at him. "Do you have _any_ idea of what we have been through? How close to death _both_ of us have been? If it hadn't been for Hiccup's quick thinking, we would both be _dead_ right now! Not such a laughing matter anymore, now is it?" she raged, as Eret tried to sputter an apology to her, his hands held up in front of him in surrender.

"Astrid! It's okay!" Hiccup reached out to grasp her shoulder, pulling her back to him and away from Eret. She glowered at him, ready to do some serious harm to the bigger man, and he seemed absolutely terrified of the pint sized ball of fury in front of him.

"It's okay, really," Hiccup repeated quietly. "He didn't know. We were just having a joke about something, that's all. You only heard the tail end of it. It's okay," he soothed, pulling her towards him.

He steadied himself on his crutches with one arm, holding her close with the other. She lifted her head and gazed at him, her eyes full of fear as she sought to reassure herself that he was telling the truth. He smiled warmly at the frightened woman in front of him. When she tucked herself into his chest, he was dismayed to find her shaking as silent sobs racked her body.

"Shh! It's okay," he whispered into her ear, as he stroked her back with his hand. The other was still holding onto the crutch to keep himself braced upright. He kissed the top of her head, and held her close, her hands curled in front of her against his chest.

Her voice came up to him, broken and muffled, "It's not fair! Why did this have to happen to us? Why now? Why did that accursed man have to pick on _you_? Why?"

It tore at his heart to hear her speak like this. Hiccup was in agony as he listened to the sounds of her deep despair. He had no answers to give her. He had been asking the same questions himself.

Choking back his emotions he could only say to her, "I don't know, Astrid. I don't know why. Who knows what kind of twisted thinking these people have. All I know is that we are still here, we're still safe. And the police are doing everything they can to find her. Plus Eret's here to help protect us. We're fine now. It will soon be over, okay? Astrid?"

She nodded into his chest, still shaking, but she refused to move away from him. He kept stroking her back, as he waited for her to calm down, kissing her hair, whispering into her ear that he loved her, that he would do all he could to protect her, over and over again.

Eret had long since disappeared, feeling like he was invading a private moment between the two. It had broken something inside him to see the two of them so obviously suffering. He knew they had escaped death…twice, but he hadn't really thought of _how_ it had affected them. He glanced over at the two of them still standing in the middle of the room, in their own private world as they gained comfort from each other. He busied himself making tea, sure they would probably appreciate a cup to help them settle. He thought about making breakfast too, but wasn't sure what they would like, or if they even wanted to eat right now. So he left it.

Finally, Hiccup could feel her shaking subside, that she was taking deeper breaths as she fought to take back control. Slowly, she lifted her tear streaked face to his, breaking his heart all over again as he observed the pain in her eyes. He tenderly lifted her chin, and kissed each tear soaked cheek.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him, pulling back slightly to wipe her face with her shirt. Well…his shirt. "I didn't mean to break down like that. I didn't even know that was there."

"It's okay," he murmured to her, stroking her back again. "It's good to get it out, release the pain."

She shuddered as she took in a deep breath. "Is that one of your dad's quips," she asked with a tiny laugh.

He tilted his head, appearing thoughtful. "You know, it could be. Huh? Look at me, listening to my dad!"

She released a half laugh, half sob. "Had to happen sooner or later I suppose."

Hiccup bent his forehead close to hers, "Do me a favour…and don't tell him, okay? He'll get a serious attitude if he thought I was actually taking notice of him."

She giggled again, a little more freely this time. "Wouldn't want that now, would we?"

He shook his head slowly, "No we don't! Not now…or ever!"

Astrid sighed, then collapsed against him once more, wrapping her arms around his chest. She was content to have his hand circling her middle back, having the weight of his cheek against the top of her head, and listening to him breathing in her ear. She stared without seeing off to one side, her thoughts her own.

"Thank you, Hiccup," she whispered into his chest, before lifting her lips to his for a brief kiss full of meaning. "Thank you for saving me again."

"For you, anytime," he whispered back.

"Tea, anyone?" came a sudden accented voice from behind them.

His words shocked them and they almost fell out each other's arms. They had been so focused on their own world, they had forgotten someone else was there with them. Astrid pulled back from Hiccup in embarrassment. She hastily wiped the remainder of her tears, before turning to Eret.

"I apologize for what I said before," she stated rapidly, so she could leave quickly and bury her head in shame. "It was uncalled for."

"No, _I_ apologize. You were right, my comment lacked sensitivity and understanding," he returned in a mournful voice.

"Well, maybe we were both wrong," she replied hastily, wanting to remove herself from the scene. "Let's just leave it at that, okay?" Astrid then promptly turned on her heel and ran back to her room, shutting the door rapidly behind her.

"Wow!" was Eret's response, staring at the closed door. "That was fast! Will she be okay?"

Hiccup sighed and hobbled over to the kitchen. "Let's get some breakfast started. She'll come out for food."

He was right, she did come out when she smelt breakfast in the air. She slid into her seat without a word, and Hiccup handed her a plate of food and a mug of tea. The subdued blonde smiled gratefully at him. Eret continued as if nothing had happened, talking about random things, making jokes. Hiccup caught his eye and nodded to him in thanks. Soon, Astrid was behaving more like her usual self and responding to Eret's charm, although she stuck close to Hiccup, and didn't seem inclined to leave him for too long, even following him to the couch.

Hiccup sighed, his heart heavy, as he put his arms around her and held her close. He kissed the top of her head as she curled up into his chest, her legs tucked underneath her. He knew she was still coming to terms with her emotional outburst this morning, as well as feeling embarrassed that it happened in front of Eret, of all people.

He wanted desperately to talk it over with her, but felt stilted with Eret sitting in the lounge with them.

Eret had taken to trying to win Toothless over, and the black wolf was obviously having a good laugh at the burly man's expense. Every time Eret tried to get closer, Toothless would pull back. Every time he raised his hand to touch him, the wolf would curl his lips and bare his teeth. Every time Eret would offer a treat, the canine would nip in and take it, but pull back out of reach before Eret had a chance to extend his hand to pat him.

"You know he's playing with you, right?" Hiccup finally spoke to the big man. Toothless glared at Hiccup with a look that clearly said, _'Don't spoil my fun.'_

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Eret in confusion.

"He knows what you're trying to do and he's playing with you," repeated Hiccup flatly.

This time the wolf growled at him, "Oh be quiet, you!" grumbled Hiccup. "You've had your fun! Now you're just being mean."

The wolf had the audacity to appear bemused with an _'I don't know what you mean,'_ look.

"Just ignore him, and he'll come to you…eventually," instructed the slighter man.

"Ignore him?" queried Eret, not comprehending.

"Yeah, ignore him," Hiccup was starting to feel like a broken record. "Let him work out if he wants to trust you or not, then he'll approach you…when he's ready."

"So you mean all that stuff I've been doing…was a waste of time?" asked Eret in disbelief.

"Pretty much," confirmed Hiccup.

This time Toothless _grinned_ , in his doggy fashion. And not even Eret could deny that the wolf hadn't been _laughing_ at him.

"Oh!" stuttered Eret. "Well that's embarrassing."

This time Astrid smiled. Hiccup turned his head to her, feeling her reaction against his chest.

She spoke so quietly so that only the man holding her could hear, "Know how _that_ feels!"

He chuckled at her, but Eret mistakenly thought Hiccup was laughing at _him._ "You knew this whole time but said nothing?"

"Would you have believed me if I told you a wolf was about to best you?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.

Eret paused for a moment, appearing deep in thought. "Probably not," he admitted unashamedly. "Well, I suppose I can tick _that_ item off my bucket list…being laughed at by a wolf," smirked Eret.

Astrid giggled into Hiccup's shirt.

"Glad you're feeling better," he whispered to her.

She lifted her head to gaze deeply into his warm green eyes, so caring, all for her.

Astrid felt an overwhelming sense of love for this man who cared about her so deeply, so unreservedly, that he would do anything, take any discomfort, just to keep her safe and happy. It completely filled her up, from the top of her head, to the tips of her toes. She had never thought it was possible to love someone so much.

She reached up to place a soft, lingering kiss on his lips which he gladly returned. She released him with a soft sigh, wrapping her arms around him and burying herself into his chest, feeling like she could never hold him close enough.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" she asked in wonder.

He grinned softly at her, "That's supposed to be my line," he teased.

"Yeah, cause a hysterical girlfriend is just what every man needs," she grumbled.

"Hey, everyone's entitled to a bout of hysteria every now and again."

"How come I haven't seen you have yours then?" she countered.

"Oh, I've had my moments too," he frowned. "I just prefer to have a lot of smaller breakdowns."

He lifted her chin so she was facing him again.

"And you've been there to pull me out of every one of them," he said softly. "Thank you."

Astrid felt puzzled over this. "When have I ever helped you?" she questioned.

He kissed her briefly on her forehead, "Last night was a classic example," he reminded her.

"Oh? Oh!" she realised, as her mind flashed back to last night, and other times when he had questioned himself or his own ability, and she had reminded him of what he meant to her, to others, and what he truly was capable of.

"See? You've been there for so long now, I don't know what I would do without you," he suddenly choked back tears as the thought of losing her threatened to overwhelm him.

"Don't, Hiccup. Don't!" she begged, pushing off his chest and sitting on her knees in front of him, wrapping her hands around his face and leaning in to rain desperate light kisses all over his face, before connecting with his lips. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in, suddenly needing contact with her, to reassure himself she was here, she was real, and she was his.

Astrid was crying as she kissed him, so frightened to let him go. As if he might disappear if she dared to stop touching him. She ran her fingers through his hair as she kissed him along the edge of his lips, his jaw, his cheeks. She couldn't stop kissing him, before Hiccup drew her in to kiss her firmly on her soft mouth. His arms were wrapped around her, his fingers brushing over the sensitive skin of her back. She was still on her knees beside him, so he gently repositioned her so that she turned around and sat on his lap, never losing contact with her lips, her arms still around him.

All too soon, he released her mouth reluctantly, bringing his hands to her face and using his thumbs to wipe the drying tears from her cheeks, his eyes dark with passion. He lingered on her swollen lips, still partly open, inviting him to return. He gazed intensely into her deep blue eyes, pain and distress still visible there, along with the desire.

"We're here, together. That's all that matters for now," he murmured to her fervently. "I don't have any answers for the future. Thinking about losing you hurts too much. I only know I want you beside me for as long as I can. So I only want to think about that, nothing else," he continued so fiercely it took her breath away.

She nodded, still too overcome with emotion to trust her voice, or her ability to talk without breaking down again. The stress of almost dying twice, and now the pressure of being 'hunted' had been too great. They clung to each other tightly, as if they were in a small boat on a raging sea, being tossed in every direction not of their own making, frightened they would be ripped apart.

Astrid tucked her face into his shoulder, as he encircled her with his arms, not daring to say anything more. They rode the waves of emotion together, waiting for the calming of the ocean, comforting each other, no more words needing to be said.

Both hoped desperately that this journey they were on, would end soon. It was only days ago, that they had finally realised their true feelings for each other, but ever since then their world had been turned upside down so dramatically their heads were still reeling from the impact. The chance of them being ripped apart was so great that neither wanted to acknowledge it, yet at the same time they clung frantically to each other in case this was the last chance they had. It was no wonder that they had both crashed today, in a hole so deep that it felt almost impossible to claw their way back out.

Yet they did.


	18. Chapter 18

Hiccup was the first to notice.

"Where's Eret? And Toothless?" he asked, scanning the surrounding area.

Astrid lifted her head. "I don't know. Maybe in one of the rooms?" she suggested, carefully sliding off his lap and standing up.

Hiccup picked up his crutches from their position on the floor and held them in one hand as he shifted to the edge of the seat, before pushing himself up and standing up with practiced ease. He switched one of the crutches to his other arm and supported himself on them as he headed towards the hallway. Astrid walked in the opposite direction, towards the kitchen. She glanced out the window, then did a double take.

"Hiccup! Come here!"

"What? Did you find them?" came his voice from the other end of the house.

"Just come here!" she urged.

Hiccup approached the blonde at the kitchen window, puzzled as to what she was so excited about.

He stood beside her, and peered in the direction she indicated.

When he caught sight of what she was pointing at, his eyebrows lifted in surprise, as he chuckled at the minor drama unfolding outside the window.

Eret was wandering around the yard, trying to 'ignore' the black wolf stalking him at a distance. Yet he would pause to look back over his shoulder to see if Toothless had decided to befriend him yet, only to find the wolf had moved, but was not getting any closer. Although the couple observing the scenario from the window could see quite clearly what was happening.

The canine was following several paces behind the big man, and every time Eret stopped to look back, the wolf would drop to the ground, keeping his eyes trained on his prize. His tongue was lolling out and he was quite clearly enjoying the 'hunt'.

Hiccup leaned forward and tapped the kitchen window. The wolf's ear flicked backwards but he stayed focussed on his quarry. Hiccup tapped the glass again and was ignored with another ear flick. The third time, Hiccup opened the window and called out, "Toothless!"

He was much more successful this time, the furry head whipping around to face him, although the look on the canine's face was clearly stating, _'What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?'_

"Toothless!" called out Hiccup through the open glass. "Leave him be!"

Eret's shoulders had drooped at Hiccup's words, and Toothless just glared back at his master, before rising and slinking around the corner of the building.

"Do you mean to tell me, it's happened again?" Eret asked incredulously, to the couple in the window. He thought he'd been making progress with the wolf.

"Fraid so," confirmed Hiccup from the kitchen, while Astrid did her best to muffle her giggles from beside her boyfriend. He glanced down at her, a twitch lifting the corner of his mouth.

The much larger man sighed and trudged back inside the house.

He entered in through the front door, making sure to lock it behind him. "He must really have it in for me," he wondered, more to himself than anyone else.

Astrid and Hiccup drifted over to meet him, "Oh don't it too much to heart," comforted Hiccup. "You're not the first person he's stalked."

"Surprisingly, that doesn't do much to reassure me," muttered Eret drily.

"Don't try so hard," suggested Astrid.

Hiccup nodded. "He'll come to you, when he's ready," he reassured Eret kindly.

Eret sighed, then shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

Hiccup grinned, then turned to the blonde beside him.

"So m'lady," he asked, "What are your intentions for the day?"

Astrid inspected him, up and down, "How about we get you off your feet…er, foot…first, then maybe we can think about some study. If we're going to be in lockdown, we might as well make the most of it. I know my study has suffered lately. I'm sure yours has too," she gave him a knowing smirk.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at her and shook his head, "I swear, you really are in league with my father, aren't you?"

Astrid grinned, "I will neither confirm, nor deny," she replied with mock innocence.

He sighed in resignation, "All right, I'll get my laptop. But I want to see you with your books on the table too, miss!"

She gave him a cheeky grin, "As if I would let you study on your own!" and turned on her heel towards her room, to collect her laptop and books that her parents had bought in with them last night.

Half an hour later, Astrid was sitting at the table opposite Hiccup, rapidly tapping her pencil on the open study book in front of her and sighing deeply in frustration. Hiccup looked up from his own study, exasperated.

"What's the matter, Astrid? You've been tapping that pencil relentlessly for the last twenty minutes. I'm surprised it hasn't broken yet!"

She barely glanced up at him, before giving the book in front of her a murderous stare.

"Whatever the book's done, I'm sure it's very sorry," said Hiccup, attempting to lighten her mood.

She just redirected her glare at him instead.

"I take that back," he contended. "It's guilty as charged, and hopefully, _I'm_ innocent!" He put his hands up in self-defence.

The blonde suddenly caved in, and her face contorted into a mix of disgust and confusion. "I can't understand a single thing that's written in this book!" she practically yelled at him in frustration, throwing her pencil across the room.

Hiccup followed the pencil with his eyes as it arched through the air across the room. It landed on the floor in the corner with a clatter.

"Nice shot, Astrid," Hiccup said dryly. "Can you do that with your book too?"

She immediately went to pick up the heavy textbook with both hands, but Hiccup hastily pushed it back down on the table.

"I was kidding, Astrid! Boy, what has got you so upset? You're like a bear who sat in a prickly patch!"

Astrid shoved her head into her hands, leaning on the table. Her fingers wound their way through her hair, pulling out the normally neat braid. It was the sort of frazzled hair action that Hiccup would usually do, but no one would have been game enough to bring her attention to that fact at this point. Self-preservation has to kick in at some point when faced with an angry female.

"I can't understand it, Hiccup!" she repeated in a frustrated tone. "I've been reading the same information over and over again, but it's still not sinking in. And it's not like I can put my hand up and ask the instructor, now can I?"

Astrid had accidentally loosened her braid, and her hair was now standing to attention in all the wrong places. She shoved her hands back through her hair again, and her fingers collided with a knot. Groaning in exasperation, she ripped out the hair tie, and loosened her tresses out across her shoulders, brushing out the tangle with her fingers. Tilting her head backwards, she started the lengthy process of braiding it again.

Talking to the ceiling as her practised fingers flew through the procedure of twisting strands of hair into a regimented order, she complained, "I can't think, Hiccup. The doctors warned me this might happen after getting a concussion. What if I never get better? What if I can't finish uni? What if I can't get a job, cause I can't put two thoughts together? What if…"

"Woah!" called out Hiccup, raising his palm to her. "That's a lot of 'what ifs'. Let's just start from the beginning, alright? How about I help you study? We can read through the information together and work it out. What we don't understand, we can ask your instructor by email."

Astrid finished twisting the hair tie around the end of her braid, and tilted her head forward to stare at her boyfriend across the table.

"Hiccup, I can't let you do that! You've got your own study to do. Plus you're already behind. If you tried to help me, you'd never get yours done! No! That's not the solution," she was clearly agitated as she spoke, her hands twisting together as she contemplated her choices.

"Hey! I can do it! We'll figure it out, I know we will. We could…."

"No, Hiccup! I won't do that to you." Astrid was adamant about it, and Hiccup paused.

She sighed, and let her forehead drop down onto her arms crossed over on the table. "I'll just have to defer a semester," her voice came back muffled.

Hiccup opened his mouth to disagree, but Eret interrupted him before he could speak.

"I could help you, Astrid."

The blonde lifted her head up from her position of despair. "What?" she questioned.

"I could help you."

Hiccup warily peered up the man who had silently appeared at the end of the table.

"I already know the subject. I'm just standing around here twiddling my thumbs at the moment anyway. Hiccup could keep doing his own study, and I could help you."

Astrid chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about it. Eret's plan made sense to her, but she was worried about what Hiccup would think. She glanced up at him with a hopeful expression.

Hiccup returned her gaze, keeping his expression neutral. He was struggling to keep his immediate feelings of jealousy subdued. He remembered that his insecurities made Astrid feel untrustworthy, and he didn't want that. He knew the plan made sense, but that didn't prevent him from searching for any reason to dismiss the idea. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any, so he said hesitantly, "That sounds…reasonable. We could try that, I suppose. But if it doesn't work out, we could go back to my plan."

Astrid scowled at him, knowing what he was doing. But she did not want him to have to give up his time to study with her, realising that it would cause too many problems for him. So instead she smiled gratefully at him and blew him a kiss, then silently mouthed ' _Thank you'_ across the table. He just smiled grimly at her, his lips tight together. He knew the plan made sense. Didn't mean he had to like it.

"Great!" grinned Eret beside them. "Let's get started."

He pulled up a chair for himself beside Astrid and plonked himself down onto it.

"What chapter are you on?"

Astrid pointed out what she had been _not_ reading before. "Here, this bit."

Eret perused the text she had selected, before nodding. "Okay, it's like this…."

For the next two hours, Eret and Astrid discussed the lessons she had been given from uni. She was fascinated at his methods of explaining muscle anatomy and its functions, even adding in extra tid-bits that hadn't come from the book. Occasionally he would impart a funny story from his experiences, highlighting the same information they were reading about. She would laugh, then express amazement that she could actually understand what he was teaching her about.

Hiccup had barely read a word of his own study, sneaking glances over at the pair at the end of the table, listening in to every syllable. At one point, he must have been too obvious, as Astrid caught his eye, and subtly shook her head, letting him know she was on to him and disapproved.

Hiccup sighed, and tried to shift his thoughts back to his own study. Despite everything they had said to each other only the previous night, it wasn't easy to suddenly drop all those misguided feelings of inadequacy.

He glanced back up at Astrid, only to find her eyes already on him. She grinned and winked at him. Hiccup's stomach did an unexpected flip and he grinned back. He reminded himself that she only had eyes for him, and so with that thought, he forced himself to relax and put out of his mind all the negative ideas cluttering up his brain, and focus instead on the good ones.

So he was surprised, when sometime later Astrid approached him with a mug of tea.

"Here, soldier," she teased lightly. "Time for a break."

Hiccup looked up to find Astrid had already packed up her study books, and Eret was collecting his bag from the floor. He glanced up at the clock and realised it was late afternoon, and time for Eret to leave.

"Is it that time already?" he asked, astounded that he had managed to get through some solid study.

"Yes. You were really immersed in your study. You didn't even notice when we stopped!" she smiled softly at him, rubbing his shoulders lightly.

He sighed and leaned back into his chair, relaxing his shoulders under her gentle touch.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, then rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

"There's an awful lot to catch up on," he admitted wryly.

"See? That's why I didn't want you to help me."

"Is that an official 'I-told-you-so'?" asked Hiccup.

"Yes," she declared forthrightly, smacking him on his shoulder.

"Okay, I'll admit it. Having Eret help you was a good idea," he good naturedly agreed.

"Glad to hear you say it," she murmured, leaning down to kiss him on the tip of his nose. She left him to walk over to Eret and thank him for his help, before turning to answer the door bell. Eret glanced over at Hiccup with one eyebrow raised, and silently lifted one thumb to twist it down on the palm of his other hand, in an ' _under the thumb'_ gesture.

Hiccup twisted his lips wryly and shook his head, but Eret just raised the other eyebrow and nodded energetically back.

Hiccup just laughed. ' _Maybe'._

Astrid had opened the front door to a cheerful Gobber, and given him a warm hug. Gobber returned it with gusto, then turned to frown at the exiting Eret.

Hiccup called out to the hired bodyguard, but his words were directly aimed at the scowling peg-legged hulk in the doorway, "Thanks for all your help today Eret. I don't think we could have done all that without you. I really appreciate it."

Eret beamed at him, "No problems, Hiccup. Same again tomorrow?"

The young man nodded. "Absolutely. Is that alright with you, Astrid?"

The blonde turned her warm gaze towards her wonderful boyfriend, "Definitely!"

Gobber had been listening to the friendly exchange of words with his mouth wide open, especially as he noted Hiccup's sincerity. Obviously something had changed since the day before. Gobber was never one to hold a grudge, so he turned to Eret who was eyeing him off nervously and gave him a wide grin.

"Good to see ya getting on so well with these two," he chuffed, extending his non-hook hand.

"Eh, thanks?" muttered Eret, shaking the older man's hand with reluctance. He may have been a big man himself, but he knew that Gobber would be a much stronger and wiser opponent if he ever had the misfortune to go up against him.

Eret turned to wave at his two new friends before leaving through the front door.

Gobber turned to his two charges and grinned at them. "Sorted through your _misunderstandings_ , did ya?"

Hiccup blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Eh…yeah, I guess so."

"Good! He's a nice enough kid. Just need to let him know where his place is," he turned and stared pointedly at Astrid, who promptly blushed too.

"I think we've got that all sorted out now," she returned in a stilted voice. Hiccup nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now that's sorted, I have a present for you, Hiccup."

"Present? What for?" queried the surprised Hiccup, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"To help you walk on two legs, that's what for," replied Gobber, pulling the repaired prosthetic out of the bag that he had dropped on the floor earlier.

Hiccup extended his arms in excitement, stretching out to snatch his favourite foot from the older man's hands.

"You fixed it!" he laughed in relief.

"Yep, I fixed it," confirmed Gobber, as Hiccup swivelled in his seat so he could strap the prosthetic onto his leg.

"It still fits!" he exclaimed in wonderment.

"Of course it still fits! Did you think I was gonna shrink it, you daft boy!"

Hiccup laughed at his mentor, and gripped the edge of the table and the chair while he raised himself up to full height, Astrid hoovering anxiously beside him. He took a cautious step forward, testing his weight on the repaired device. The swelling in his stump had mostly disappeared, but the multiple bruises and scratches still stung a little. They would take much longer to heal.

"Great!" he enthused, turning to a worried Astrid. "Now I've got my leg back, maybe we could take to the skies again."

"Hiccup," Astrid tried to interrupt him.

"…We could fly somewhere where they would never find us, and wait till it all blows over and the police capture them!" His arms flailed widely as he described his plan, pacing backwards and forwards in front of them.

"Hiccup," Astrid tried again.

"…Maybe we could just keep on flying, and explore all the outer islands! I haven't been to all of them yet, but we could probably walk around for a while…."

" _Hiccup_!" Astrid finally managed to break into his impetuous tirade.

"What?"

"Your leg's not ready yet," she broke it to him gently, "It's still swollen and damaged. If you walk on it now, it will take longer to heal."

Hiccup stared at her as if she had two heads.

"She's right lad," stated Gobber, siding with the blonde woman. "You get back in that thing too early, you'll end up right back where you started."

Hiccup turned to the older man in disbelief. "You too?" he was obviously dismayed at his having his enthusiasm so quickly dampened. "Why did you bring it here then? To get my hopes up and then knock me down?" he couldn't believe what he was hearing from the two people he trusted the most.

Astrid took a step towards him, "Hiccup…"

"No!" he backed away from her, anger and frustration blazing in his eyes. "You don't know what it's like, having to use crutches all the time. You've got two legs, you can go wherever you want, _do_ whatever you want. You don't even have to think about it, you just get up and go. I can't even go to the _toilet_ by myself! Do you know what that's like? Trying to negotiate in a small room with those blasted things? How awkward it is trying to balance just to _pee_!" He glared at her, as he pointed at the crutches with pure venom.

"He's right, lass. It is awkward," Gobber shrugged a shoulder as she frowned at him.

Astrid felt guilty…and hurt. She stood silently, while her boyfriend ran one hand through his hair, annoyed at himself for his outburst…he'd seen her pain…and frustrated at having his independence taken from him.

Hiccup's leg twinged, and he faltered. He did not want to admit that she was right. He knew what would happen if he continued to walk around in the prosthetic with unhealed wounds and bruising. But he felt so embittered about being confined to the house, and even worse, confined to his crutches.

He sighed, he was used to not having his leg now, but that didn't make it any easier. He couldn't just get up and do anything without first having to think about checking his stump, making sure it was in good condition, before strapping on his _artificial_ leg. He still _felt_ like his foot was there, but he couldn't _feel_ it when his prosthetic hit the ground. He had to take more notice of where he was stepping. There was a lot more work involved to just get from point A to point B.

But worse than that, no leg meant no flying, something he had been doing since he was a teenager. Up in the sky, it didn't matter if he had only one real foot. He was _free!_ And being trapped inside the house was really starting to give him a sense of claustrophobia.

"Hiccup…what if…what if you have _one_ more night with ice…then try it again tomorrow?" Astrid asked tentatively.

He stared at her sideways for a long moment, before his shoulders suddenly drooped. He replied "Okay," in such a mournful voice, that she longed to rush up to him, and hold him tight and tell him that everything would be alright…but she didn't. She hated seeing him so depressed and sad, but she knew she was right. She needed to keep him on the right track, so that he wouldn't suffer later on.

Gobber clapped a heavy hand on the despondent man's shoulder, "You'll be fine, Hiccup. I guarantee it," he comforted.

Hiccup glanced up with a small tilt to his lips, "Thanks, Gobber. That means a lot, especially coming from you."

Gobber raised up his peg leg and his hand-hook as affirmation that he understood what Hiccup was going through.

Astrid watched as her lover traipsed towards the couch with such a dejected air, that it broke her heart. She turned to collect the ice pack from the kitchen, before following him into the lounge. He flopped onto the couch with a sigh, and slowly unstrapped his prosthetic again. Astrid stood in front of him and silently handed him the ice pack. He regarded her with an air of resignation before accepting it, placing it carefully over his stump which he had already raised onto the footstool.

Astrid cautiously sat on the couch beside him and waited for his reaction. He lifted up his arm, and she took that as her sign that she was welcome against his side. He didn't have a problem with her, just the situation he found himself in.

But…tomorrow was another day.


	19. Chapter 19

It was well after breakfast the next morning, before Astrid would allow Hiccup to strap his prosthetic on again. Eret and Astrid both stood beside him as he hoisted himself up and found his balance. He took a few tentative steps forward, then pivoted and returned to Astrid's side.

"Thank you for caring so much about me, that you were prepared to stop me from doing something rash," he began, stretching out his hand to hold hers.

Astrid took his offered hand, "Anytime. That's what I'm here for," she replied quietly.

"No, it's not," he argued quickly.

She glanced up at him, understanding what his concern was. "Hiccup, I'm not your nursemaid. But as your _girlfriend_ , it is my role to make sure you don't do anything that will cause you problems later on," she declared firmly.

He laughed, chastised. "Okay, you win!" he declared.

"Good! Now it's time for study. Are you ready?" she challenged him. He chuckled, "I guess I will have to be, won't I?"

She just smirked.

-oOo-

They had been studying for several hours, their books and computers spread out on the table. It was nearing lunchtime, when the doorbell rang. Eret glanced up from his position beside Astrid and muttered, "I wonder who that could be?"

Hiccup shrugged and went back to his study. Eret got up from his chair, and headed towards the front door. Toothless was behind him, growling, his hackles up. The young couple at the table both searched out Toothless, and then stared up at Eret with uncertainty. The wolf had not really reacted like that before. Could he sense something they couldn't? Everyone was on edge as Eret approached the door. He spoke through the intercom, "Yes?"

"Hello, Sir? We're from the Daily News, and we were hoping to speak to Hiccup. Is he in, Sir?" came a bland male voice through the speaker.

Eret turned to the young couple and huffed. "Reporters!" he hissed quietly. Turning back to the intercom, he politely refused, "I'm sorry, Hiccup is not available for any stories. Please leave the property."

The insistent reply came back, "But we only need his attention for a few minutes, Sir. Just a few questions, that's all."

Eret peered at the two male faces on the video monitor. They were both well-built and had their ID badges on their shirts. The largest man had a recording device in his hand. Eret spoke into the intercom again, "Please leave the property now! Before I have you forcibly removed!"

He saw the mouth of the big man moving on the screen, "Ah! Don't be like that, Sir! Just two minutes!"

Eret decided words were not doing the job, so he decided on action. Without even looking back at the two very concerned faces behind him, he unlocked and opened the door, intending to go as far as a crack so he could intimidate the two men and make them think twice about staying.

Toothless' growl grew in volume as Eret's hand turned the door knob. As soon as the lock had been removed, the two 'reporters' took quick action, slamming their broad shoulders into the door in unison, forcing it open with a crash! Eret was knocked backwards into the entrance wall, momentarily stunned. Toothless launched himself at the closest invader, teeth bared in a truly devastating manner. He found the arm of his opponent who shrieked in agony.

Hiccup jumped to his feet, automatically extending his hand out to Astrid. She quickly grabbed it, and he pulled her closer to him against the table, feverishly searching around him for a way to defend themselves. The terrified young couple held each other tightly, unsure of what to do next. They knew their moment had come upon them, and they needed to act urgently if they were to have any chance of survival.

Hiccup flashed his eyes back towards their two odd-matched guardians at the door. He jolted and sucked in his breath, when he heard the terrifying growls suddenly interrupted by a terrible ' _thwack_ ' as the first man forcibly struck the wolf with the butt of a handgun causing the canine to collapse limply to the floor.

"Toothless!" Hiccup breathed in shock, starting towards the stricken animal. " _NO_!" Eret yelled at Hiccup, having recovered from the initial attack. He swung a mighty fist towards the man who had struck Toothless, landing squarely on his jaw and causing him to stagger back. But Eret was instantly tackled by the first man and pushed back up against the wall.

Eret felt the wall give behind him as the force of the assault broke the gyprock. He saw the flash of a fist bearing down on him as the first man charged him again. Eret ducked to the side and the fist landed in the wall where his head had been split seconds before. The man cursed as flesh hit splintered timber.

Eret swung another knockout blow towards the second man, connecting with the side of his jaw, causing spit and blood to fly through the air. He fell backwards up against his companion, who stumbled under the unexpected weight.

Eret shifted to a more stable stance, and his foot touched something soft. He glanced quickly down at the prone patch of black fur on the floor, noticing the blood seeping from a wound on his head, then back up at his terrified charges. He knew he couldn't save them. He knew they didn't have a chance. Toothless was no longer at his side, he was on his own.

Hiccup had taken a shaky step towards his friend on the ground, but he hesitated when he saw the desperation and determination in Eret's eyes. It was happening…Now!

Eret shouted at the two, "GO! NOW! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Hiccup faltered, taking in the terrible scene before him. He didn't want to leave Eret, but he knew he had to. He was still too beaten up to offer any resistance to the thugs in front of him, and Astrid needed to be protected too.

He made his decision.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the house, towards the garage on the side, Astrid quickly following. Hiccup ripped open the door to where the vehicles lay in wait, and strode directly to the jeep.

Damn!

He had no keys.

There was no time to race back inside, he could hear some solid 'thumps' followed by the sounds of grunts and groans. Hopefully that was Eret inflicting damage on the intruders.

Hiccup turned his attention to the Harley Davidson parked haphazardly on the side, where Gobber had loosely parked it the afternoon they had been attacked in the plane by Dagur. The keys were still in the ignition. Hiccup hadn't bothered to come back to it since then.

He rapidly indicated to the bike to Astrid. Her eyes widened as she understood his intentions. She nodded to show her approval, and ran to open the closed garage door. Hiccup stumbled over to his beloved bike, and slipped his leg over the seat. He twisted the key before flicking the 'kill' switch to 'on', then pushed the start button, sighing in relief as it started first shot. He pushed it forward to release the kickstand as the sounds of the exhaust collided with each other in the small space, leaving no room for conversation.

As soon as the bike had lit up, shouts could be heard from inside the house, followed by heavy footsteps thumping towards the closed garage door. Hiccup edged the bike forward, and frantically waved to Astrid to get on the bike. She wasted no time with niceties, and practically hurled herself at the black and chrome beast, skipping her leg over the seat and gripping the rider's hips firmly. There was no time for applying helmets, but he still had to wait a few moments more while the motor idled. Emergency or not, the Harley was not about to give any performances, unless he first warmed the engine.

The fake 'reporters' burst through the garage door, closing in on their quarry, but barely had time to register the exhaust pouring from the back of the bike as Hiccup rapidly eased it into first gear and threw open the throttle, making their pursuers cough in surprise.

The Harley blasted out of the building towards the front gate, leaving their assailants behind. Hiccup directed the bike down the road, not sure where to go. He swivelled his head backwards, checking on what was happening behind him. His heart thudded wildly in his chest in fear. He wanted to go back for Toothless and Eret, but knew that would be a death sentence. He could only hope they were still alive.

Aiming forward again, he noticed a white van idling on the street outside the house, and a figure behind the wheel. He assumed the van was the source of the fake 'reporters', and turned his attention back to the road in front of him, keeping the van in his rear vision mirror.

The two thugs were already racing from the garage, towards the van. Astrid was gripping his hips firmly, and leaned against his back, her chin coming over his shoulder. "Aim for the police station", she yelled into his ear.

Hiccup nodded, and rolled the bike into the next corner, shifting gears. The bike wasn't going to win any speed races, but he did have acceleration on his side. They raced down the semi-empty street, searching for help. The intersection rapidly approached them, and he was forced to ease his speed, flicking the pedal downward to drop into the lower gears.

He didn't have anything to protect his vision or his head, and so had to squint into the wind. He flicked his gaze left and right searching for other traffic. Seeing none, he headed for the turn. Half way through, his gaze diverted to the left again, and he nearly dropped the bike in shock. The white van was speeding towards them, coming from the side street, ready to barrel into the two riders on the bike.

Hiccup heard Astrid's huge gasp behind his shoulder as she watched the van heading straight for them. He had no choice but to turn hard, scraping the edge of the low slung exhaust as he did so, sparks erupting from the tortured metal. The impact with the ground caused the bike to wobble and Hiccup had to fight to keep control. His passenger dug in and followed his lead as much as she could, to give him every chance to right the bike. Finally, his skill won the battle and the bike was back in an upright position.

The van had taken the opportunity to draw closer when they were forced to slow, and was now rapidly gaining on them. Astrid turned her head to stare at their attackers only metres behind them, and in-between the handfuls of loosened hair whipping around her face, she could see the determined glare of the driver.

A female driver.

With black hair and hard green eyes.

Astrid's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the face.

Heather.

Her attention turned back to the man who currently held her life in his hands, and she only had one word for him, "GO!"

Hiccup gunned it, revving the motor and desperately scanning the streets through narrowed eyes for any obstructions. His mind was recalculating his path back to the police station, but his heart sank into his boots as he realised that the van behind could easily cut him off while he stayed on the narrow streets of Berk. His only advantage on the bike was straight out acceleration on the open highway.

So that's what he decided to do.

-oOo-

Gobber was behind the wheel of his truck. He normally would be at work until late in the afternoon before heading over to guard Astrid and Hiccup, but today he had to be in town. So he had decided to pop in for a quick visit to see if Hiccup had been allowed to attach his repaired prosthetic again. He chuckled to himself as he recalled Astrid's determination to save the auburn haired youngster from himself. He couldn't wait to tease the lad about losing his trousers in _that_ relationship!

Turning into the driveway of Stoick's home, Gobber immediately tensed up. He could see straight away that something was wrong. The garage door was raised up and Hiccup's treasured Harley was missing. The front door was also in view, left ajar. Gobber slammed on the brakes close to the house, and jumped out, running towards the front door in his unique hobbling style. He attempted to push the door open, but found resistance.

Glancing down he noticed a foot poking out from behind the door, and gasped, his eyebrows lifting high. He recognized it as Eret's oversized shoe, and immediately his hand went to retrieve his phone from his pocket. He gingerly tested the door, but it would not budge so he changed direction and scurried to gain entry into the house through the open garage door.

He hobbled as fast as his one legged stance would carry him, while he hastily pressed the speed dial button for his friend, Stoick. He held the phone to his ear and listened to the dial tone as he gained entry into the open side door and glanced around frantically searching for something that was missing. Two somethings that were missing. His gaze found another terrifying scene instead.

Frozen momentarily in shock, he took in the sight before him. Eret was slumped up against the wall in the front entrance, his feet against the back of the door. The cuts and bruises on his face told the story, blood covering the front of his shirt and the floor, his head lolled to one side.

Beside him on the ground, was a black bundle of fur, laid out on his side, blood oozing from an injury to his forehead between his ears. He was deathly still.

Gobber hastily scanned the rest of the rooms, noting the furniture tipped over on the floor and the opened study books on the table, just as the phone in his ear boomed at him, "Hello Gobber! What can I do for you?"

Gobber barely had breath to tell him…tell him that his son had disappeared…despite all that he had set in place to prevent this happening. He whispered hesitantly, "Stoick….I…."

Stoick's voice was immediately harsh and demanding, "What? Gobber! Tell me what's happened? _Now_!"

"They got in…I'm sorry Stoick…they got in…" Gobber could only repeat, choking on his fears, his anxiety racing higher and higher.

"Where's Hiccup?" Stoick demanded. Gobber could hear him direct his next words to someone else in the room with him, "Call the police! NOW!"

"I…I don't know, Stoick. I don't know…They must have gotten away…the bike's gone…I hope and pray they got away…"

Gobber edged towards the two bodies at the front of the house, dreading what he would find on closer inspection.

"Where was Eret?" boomed his friend's voice. "He was supposed to be protecting him!"

"I think he did," answered the one-legged man faintly. "I…I think he might be dead…"

"What?" came the suddenly tight voice from over the phone. A ' _thunk_ ' could be heard as Stoick obviously sat down hard in disbelief. "The wolf?..." the question hung in the air.

"He's down too," came the reply.

Gobber heard the sharp intake of breath, and wished he didn't have to be the one to give his best friend such shattering news. They all knew that Toothless would protect his master with his life, and now it looked as if he had finally offered the supreme sacrifice. Who would protect the lad now that his closest companion was gone? And what about Eret? How was Stoick going to explain the loss of such a valiant man to his father?

Both men were shaken to the core. This couldn't be happening, not to them. Not to Hiccup and Astrid.

There was a very long silence as both struggled to comprehend what was happening, their minds reeling. Where were the young couple now? Did they escape? Or had they met their fate at the hands of a madman?

"Have you checked?" Stoick's shaken voice broke Gobber from his reverie. "No, not yet," he admitted.

"Well don't just stand there….Check!" came the order.

Gobber edged closer to the fallen heroes. He reached the wolf first. He had to put the phone down on the floor so he could shakily extend his one good hand to gently rest it on the canine's rib cage. He tried to concentrate and force his hand to be still, so that he could feel if the furry chest was rising and falling. It took a few moments, but he thought he could feel movement. Gobber's heart caught in his throat. Toothless could be alive! Suddenly the squatting man noticed the wolf's tail twitch.

"Toothless?" he questioned, wary of gaining hope.

This time the tail _really_ twitched, leaving no doubt…the wolf was alive!

Barely.

Quickly Gobber stood up to step over Toothless and directed his attention back to the muscled lad taking over the entire space in the front entrance. Gobber dared to hope a little…if the wolf was alive then the man would be too! Right?

"Eret?"

A groan reached Gobber's ears, bringing such an instant flood of joy. They were both alive!

Barely.

Gobber yelled, and his voice reached across the two comatose bodies to the phone on the floor.

"THEY'RE ALIVE!... JUST!"

Gobber didn't need to pick up the phone to hear his friends next response, "GET AN AMBULANCE!...AND A VET!"


	20. Chapter 20

**We just left Eret and Toothless in a bad way...and our favourite couple are missing! Things are getting serious...**

* * *

Stoick hurriedly pulled up his car outside his house. He wasn't able to turn into the driveway, as it had already been blocked with a number of other emergency vehicles. He pushed his way through the crowd of reporters and nosy parkers, in a hurry to get inside to see what had happened for himself. A police officer spotted him struggling, and strode over to usher him past the crowd.

As he drew closer, a stretcher appeared through the front door. He rushed over, concern and regret written all over his face. This was _not_ what he had intended to happen when he had asked Eret to look after his son.

"Eret?" he called to the young man, bandages covering most of his face. "Eret? Are you okay?" He received no response.

He turned to one of the attending ambulance officers, "Is he okay?"

The officer recognized Stoick…who wouldn't?…and nodded to him. "He's taken a fair beating, Sir. He'll be in hospital for quite some time, I would think. But he should survive."

Stoick nodded, relieved. Another man's son had cheated death today.

Gobber abruptly appeared by Stoick's side. "Aye! The lad is lucky he has such a protective layer of muscle to keep him alive."

Stoick had a sudden flash of another young man who _wasn't_ protected by such a wall. He squeezed his eyes shut against the vision of Hiccup lying on that trolley instead of Eret.

"What about the wolf?" Stoick asked Gobber, hoping to distract himself.

"Oh, he's already gone," Gobber replied.

"Gone? What do you mean? I thought he was alive?" Stoick rumbled in a panicked voice.

"Aye, he was…I mean is…the vet has already taken him and rushed him to their clinic," Gobber explained hurriedly.

Stoick let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. "Thank goodness." He paused, then spoke the most important question.

"What about Hiccup? And Astrid? Where are they?" he demanded of his friend, gripping him by the shoulders.

"We don't know, Stoick," Gobber's shoulders drooped, making him appear helpless, unable to meet his friend's eyes. "Nobody's heard anything yet," he continued softly.

Stoick's knees buckled without warning, and Gobber grunted as he grabbed his giant friend, struggling to keep him upright. One of the ambulance officers rushed to help, and between him and Gobber they managed to escort Stoick to a chair inside the house. The officer encouraged Stoick to rest his head on the table in front of him until the blood had stopped rushing to his feet.

Gobber stood silently patting his distraught friend's shoulder with a heavy hand. Neither of them could understand how this had happened again.

A policeman approached the pair, "Stoick?"

Stoick immediately raised his head, swaying slightly from his light-headedness. "Yes Detective? Have you found something?" he asked, not daring to be hopeful.

"We've just had a report. It seems that a bike with two young people was spotted earlier today racing through the town. They didn't have any helmets on, and the witness reported the girl on the back had long blonde hair."

"Aye, that must be them!" Stoick sat upright in anticipation.

The Detective gently added, "But they were being chased by a white van through town. It seems they were heading for the highway out of Berk."

"No!" Stoick whispered, his face draining of colour before blind fury started to slowly boil in the pit of his stomach, pushing up through his chest and out through his nose. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed as he yelled, "NO! She is NOT going to take my son!"

His rage propelled him out of his chair and out the door towards his waiting car. Gobber huffed along behind him, barely able to match the fired up father's stride. "Gobber! We are going to find him. NOW!" he boomed in grim determination.

Gobber knew better than to argue, and headed for the passenger door of Stoick's car. Before he could reach it, he noticed four familiar faces racing towards them on the sidewalk. "Gobber! What's happening?" asked Fishlegs worriedly.

Gobber didn't slow down in his stride. "Hiccup and Astrid are on the bike heading out of town. They're being chased by that madwoman. We're going after them," he sung out as he hopped into the seat and closed the car door behind him.

The youths stopped in their tracks. "Then we're going too," said Snotlout in determination. The group turned on their heels and marched back to Snotlout's van, tumbling back inside as Snotlout stuck the key back into the ignition. He hit the accelerator and the tyres squealed as he lurched down the road, even before Tuff had a chance to slide the door closed. "Woah, man!" Tuff called out.

Snotlout said nothing as his grim face showed his single-mindedness, chasing down Stoick's car ahead of them. _No one_ was going to threaten his cousin and get away with it.

-oOo-

Hiccup and Astrid had managed to accelerate and escape from the slower moving van. They had been riding for about an hour, and the skin on their unprotected faces was raw and stinging from the wind. Their helmets were actually in the saddlebags, but Astrid couldn't reach them without causing the bike to unbalance and they weren't game enough to stop. Heather and her goonies had already shown their persistence in finishing the job they had started, so they didn't even bother to think that a little distance was going to stop her.

Berk was the largest town on a very large island, mostly comprised of forest and farms. The next town was Ravens Point, and that was another two hours away for the young couple. In the state they were in, they knew they weren't going to make it that far.

Hiccup and Astrid hadn't been able to say much on the road. Astrid had her arms wrapped loosely around his waist, and Hiccup was able to cover her hands with his own on occasions.

He had been thinking like mad about what they could do, when he remembered one of his favourite hides. They were drawing closer to the turnoff and he needed to make a decision. It was a large hide, as he had used it often to stay overnight for a day or two. Astrid had been there with him before. It also had a stash of dried food and water, which they needed right now. They hadn't been able to escape with anything, not even a phone or cash. And definitely no food or water. Also breakfast had been a long time ago. Hiccup's stomach gave a rumble in protest.

He glanced up towards the sky. He had been noting the grey clouds gathering the further inland they travelled. He knew rain would cause them problems they didn't really need right now.

He figured they could hike into the forest towards the hide, stay there overnight protected from the weather, and with any luck they might be able to ride back home to Berk in the morning. Hopefully Heather and her hired men would be far away from them by then. But if they tried to turn around now, he knew they would run straight back into their path. There was no way they would be able to avoid them.

He checked the fuel gauge. Unfortunately it had been only half full when they started out, and the level had dropped considerably. If they stopped now, he estimated the fuel would last them the trip back with maybe a little to spare.

He nodded to himself. That was the plan that he was going to work with. He couldn't really discuss it with Astrid, but he hoped she would agree with him.

The turnoff was in front of them and he relaxed his hold on the throttle as they drew closer. He felt Astrid stiffen behind him, her fingers tightening against his hips. He twisted his head to glance backwards, but couldn't see if the white van was behind them. He had to reduce his speed to a crawl to negotiate the very tight exit. The side road was dirt only, and the bike created a small dust cloud behind them as he carefully drove towards a spot where he knew he could hide the Harley. The shiny chrome would give them away, so they needed to disguise it well.

When they had slowed down, it had reduced the roar of the engine enough that they could finally hear each other, although they still had to yell. Astrid started first.

"What are we doing here?"

"I thought we could hang out at the hide here overnight, and then head back in the morning. If we try to turn back now, we will most likely run right into them. I'm hoping they will decide to leave us alone for a bit longer, as the cops will be searching for them by now."

Astrid said nothing, her face grim. She was obviously mulling it over, while Hiccup searched for a suitable place to park the bike. He found a group of thick bushes and steered towards them. Dropping his foot on the back brake, Hiccup eased to a halt in front of the foliage, before flicking the bike into neutral. He sat back in the seat as he let the motor rumble for a while longer. He had pushed it hard and needed to let it cool down first before shutting it off.

Astrid pulled him back into her chest, her arms tight against him. She kissed him briefly on the side of his cheek where she could reach. Hiccup covered her arms with his own. They didn't need to say anything. They were grateful to be alive but worried sick about what had happened back at their home. They didn't know if Eret and Toothless were alive or not, or how badly injured they might be. Gobber would probably find them, but he wasn't due until late that afternoon. Would their two guardians even survive till then? Guilt flooded both of them for abandoning their friends, but they knew it would have ended tragically if they had stayed. They couldn't have done anything different and they knew it. But it still didn't dull the pain.

They stayed there, not saying anything at all while the motor cooled, before he finally turned the motor off. Hiccup patted her arm, the signal that they had to move.

They were still at risk of being discovered.

She released him and slid to one side to extricate herself from behind her boyfriend, legs and hips stiff from the long ride. Hiccup carefully shifted to manoeuvre himself off the bike as well, standing up to stretch out his back then shaking out his legs to liven them up. He strode over to the bushes to examine more closely how they were going to camouflage his bike.

There was a narrow gap between the bushes and Hiccup pushed through it, the branches snagging on his shirt. He frowned to himself, thinking of what damage those same branches would do to his paintwork. There was a space inside, enough to squeeze in a Softail. They could add a few more branches to hide the entrance and it would be invisible.

Hiccup and Astrid pushed the heavy bike into the tiny space, their fatigued muscles complaining. By the time they had squeezed it in, and twined the branches together to hide the opening, they were scratched, dirty and breathing hard. Hiccup turned to his girlfriend and suppressed a smile as he gently reached up to pull a few stray leaves from her blonde hair, now in disarray around her shoulders. She licked her dry lips, her thirst exacerbated by their recent efforts.

They had no water, but Hiccup knew where there was some. They just had to get there first.

He held the crook of his elbow out to her, "Coming ma'am?"

Her tired smile reached back to him, "Thank you, Sir," she replied in a mock prim voice, as her hand snaked through his arm. "I believe I shall."

"Water this way, ma'am," he waved his free hand towards the feint path in the forest. "Only an hour's trek to reach it," he finished in a mock serious voice.

"Only an hour?" responded Astrid with a lift of her eyebrow. "Is that all?" as if he had told her they only needed to walk a few feet to find a fully stocked kitchen.

"Well then, kind sir…Lead on."


	21. Chapter 21

It was more than an hour later, as the two continued their painfully slow progress through the forest. They were both panting from the exertion, their tongues feeling thick and dry, stuck to the roofs of their mouths. Dehydration had taken hold a long time ago, and they felt like all the moisture had been vacuumed from inside their mouths.

Their exhaustion was making it difficult to get anywhere quickly. They were still recovering from their injuries and Hiccup had only received his prosethetic back that very morning. He was glad he had it on. If he had been on crutches when those so-called 'reporters' had let loose on them, they would have had no chance.

As they trekked, Hiccup had been glancing more and more often at the deepening grey skies. He wasn't sure what time it was, but figured it was probably still mid to late afternoon. The dark skies made it seem a lot later. By the looks of it, they were in for a very heavy storm. He was worried about it, and hoped the hide was still intact. It had been several months since he had been here, so he couldn't even be sure that it hadn't fallen apart, or been destroyed by curious animals or strangers.

Hiccup started to second guess his decision to trek so far inland instead of heading for the next town, but his head reminded him that he didn't have enough fuel in the tank for that kind of distance, especially if they had to detour in case they met up with their pursuers again. They could get home again from here, but not from any further inland.

Astrid coughed and stumbled behind him, bringing his focus back to the present. He quickly turned to extend a steadying hand, which she took hold of with gratitude. He gave a small grin back, his dry lips splitting with the motion.

Her throat felt red raw as she attempted to ask, "Soon?"

He nodded in the affirmative. It had taken longer than expected, but he had already noted the tell-tale signs that they were about to arrive. He turned his attention back to the path, and pushed forward resolutely. They needed water, and soon.

Just then, he felt a large drop of water land on his hand. He regarded it, puzzled. He had been sweating, but not that much. A second drop appeared. Another one?

He heard Astrid give a surprised grunt and turned to find her staring down at her forearm, at another suspicious drop of water. He immediately raised his eyes up and realised the black grey clouds had surrounded them, and the wind had picked up and was starting to thrash the tops of the trees. He turned back towards Astrid and pointed up. He only had one word for her, "Hurry!"

It was a few minutes later that a very relieved Hiccup located the missing hide. It was not really missing, it was supposed to 'disappear' into the forest. He tentatively reached in to the barred front entrance, hoping that nothing had moved in while he was away. He breathed out a sigh of relief as the seal on the small door was breached only by him. Hopefully inside would also still be in good condition and they would be able to ride out the storm reasonably dry.

He gestured to Astrid to wait as he cautiously entered the dark shelter first, hoping nothing had gotten in by other means. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the gloom, only to find that everything seemed to be in place still. He could find no evidence of any holes in the ceiling space, so he sighed with relief, turning back to wave Astrid in after him.

His first priority was to locate the water reserves, followed by some kind of food. He opened a crate and pulled out a water bottle, offering it to Astrid. She practically ripped open the lid and feverishly put it to her lips, draining every last drop with great enthusiasm. It was only when she lowered it with a contented sigh, that she suddenly felt guilty as she realised she hadn't offered any to Hiccup. But to her surprise, he only smirked, instead pulling out a second bottle from the stash.

Once they were both sated, he searched the crate again, looking for some food. He found a packet of dried beef jerky, offering some to Astrid. She wrinkled in nose in disgust as she took it from him. It wasn't the tastiest of food items, but it would sustain them. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow they would be sitting back in their kitchen, laughing over their adventures and enjoying a steaming pile of steak and roast vegetables.

A sound in the distance made them both pause and listen. A low, deep seated rumbling, followed by another noise that was difficult to identify at first until they realised what it was.

Rain.

The storm was about to hit them. They could hear the thunder rolling in, warning them of what was about to come. They could also hear the cascading of heavy rain drawing closer to them and knew they were about to be inundated. Hiccup quickly sealed the door again, plunging them into darkness once more with only a soft grey light entering in through the viewing window.

Hiccup stumbled over to the supplies and searched from memory to locate a battery operated lantern. He found the lantern and the spare batteries and fumbled with it, cursing softly as he dropped the batteries.

He felt around the floor with his hand, finally locating the wayward size D's. He put them in and flicked the switch but the lamp didn't turn on. Cursing again, he opened the battery compartment and switched the batteries around. Flicking the switch this time brought instant relief as light flooded the small room.

"Ah! Let there be light!" Astrid breathed, rolling her tight shoulders to relax them. It had been a long hard day, and bumbling around in a dark and tiny space had only added to her stress.

"Ask and ye shall receive," joked Hiccup, placing the lantern on the small table located against one wall. Now they had light, they could see where they were. It was the size of a small room, made of a timber and canvas construction. A small table was against one wall, along with two folding chairs. Several timber boxes containing supplies were stacked beside the table, the top one having already been breached by Hiccup. Another box shaped item stood by itself in the opposite corner, and Astrid stared at it curiously, until….

"Hiccup, is that a….toilet?" she asked, pointing towards the object.

Hiccup stood up from the table, and rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, yeah? It's a new addition," he mumbled.

"Do you use that in here?"

"Well, yeah. When going outside is not an option, I can use this," he admitted.

"Oh," came the reply. "Do you have some sort of privacy screen for it?" she asked again.

"Uh, no. I haven't needed one yet," returned Hiccup. He knew where this was headed. It had crossed his mind on the trek in. "If you need to use it, I can just go outside," he offered.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, the rain reached them, starting with the large drops dancing the tango against the roof, then rapidly becoming a fully-fledged downpour, the low rumble of thunder so much louder than before. The noise was incredible, and Hiccup had to raise his voice to be heard.

"I can set it up for you, and step outside if you like. The rain won't worry me," he offered.

Astrid was aghast at the suggestion. "Hiccup, there's a storm out there. You can't go outside! I'll…I'll just wait until the storm's over," she decided, rather limply. She _really_ needed to go.

Hiccup could see her discomfort, "No, no, you don't have to do that, Astrid. I'll set it up for you now, and I'll…just turn the other way. That will be okay, won't it?" he asked.

The young woman's face twisted in discomfort and embarrassment, "But uh…I need to _go_ ," she emphasized the last word. Comprehension lit up Hiccup's face. "Ohh!"

"I would be too embarrassed having you in here, what with the…umm...odour…and uh….sounds," she explained hesitantly, her face bright red from sheer horror of the thought of doing… _that_ …with Hiccup in the same room.

Hiccup suddenly grinned.

Astrid was mortified, "It's not funny, Hiccup! It's not funny at all!"

Hiccup chuckled a little, "Ah! So the great Astrid Hofferson proves to be mortal after all!" he teased.

"Hiccup!"

"You know, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone has to do it on a daily basis. You've obviously never been around my dad when he lets loose," he chuckled again.

"Hiccup! Are you serious? I've _never_ seen your dad do any of that!" Astrid was mortified again.

"Well, you're a guest. He doesn't want to scare you off. But if you stay with us for any longer, you'll soon find out for yourself what he's like. He loves nothing better than sitting on the couch after work, and farting his head off while he's watching tv. Sometimes I think I'd be safer with a gas mask, the noxious cloud gets pretty thick in there!" he joked.

Astrid was horrified. "I don't think I want to know that! How am I ever going to look at your father in the eye again?" She shivered at the idea. Then another thought occurred to her, "How am I ever going to sit on that _couch_ again!"

Hiccup cracked up laughing, while Astrid glowered at him for making fun of her discomfit. Although the corner of her mouth gave a tiny twitch.

"What am I going to do?" she demanded to know, breaking into Hiccup's mirth.

"Okay!" he gasped, trying to stop laughing, but not succeeding very well. "How about I set the toilet up, and we maybe rig up some kind of screen to hide it all."

"But what about the, er…other effects?" she mumbled.

"What if I just stand in the corner with my fingers in my ears and up my nose while I hum a tune," he teased.

" _Hiccup!"_

"Okay, okay!….I'm sure it can't be all _that_ bad…especially not after what dad subjects me too. Unless you're hiding some really gross habits from me," Hiccup replied nonchalantly.

" _No_!" came the vehement reply.

Hiccup laughed again.

"Hiccup!" came the urgent response.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh! You'd think you were the first girl to use the toilet in front of a guy before," he grumbled, heading towards the boxes containing the chemicals and toilet paper he needed to set up the portaloo.

Astrid crossed her arms and scowled at him.

He waved his hand toward the other boxes, "See if you can find something to use as a screen," he suggested.

She strode over to the boxes he indicated and carefully lifted the lid of the first one. It contained a bedroll and some blankets. She dug through until she found a smaller, thinner blanket. They would probably need the warmer ones to sleep with, so they should be able to spare this one.

Hiccup had dismantled the portable toilet, and was filling the bottom container with chemicals. Astrid searched in a tool kit sitting next to the boxes and found a small hammer and nails to secure the blanket to the walls. It would at least provide a visual barrier, but not much else.

Astrid glanced out the window to the world outside. The rain was showing no signs of easing off any time soon, much to her dismay. She was in all kinds of agony, from the physical ache of needing to use the toilet, and the mental discomfit of having to do it in front of Hiccup of all people! The thought sent shivers down her spine. How was she ever going to look him in the face again! This wasn't like at home, where the evidence was flushed away. Her guilt was going to sit there in the corner until _someone_ emptied it, and she couldn't bear the thought of Hiccup having to do that.

"Ready?" Hiccup's voice brought her back to the present.

"Huh?" she muttered, flustered.

"The screen? Did you find one to hang up?" he reminded her gently.

"Uh, yeah," she showed him the blanket she had chosen, along with the hammer and nails.

"Good. You can help me put it up then," he stated, holding his hand out for the tools.

Astrid stepped forward and handed him the items he needed, before unfolding the blanket and stretching it out. He directed her to where she had to hold it while he knocked in the nails, completely focused on his task despite his exhaustion.

It was only a few moments before the job was finished and Hiccup stood back with a flourish.

"Your powder room awaits, m'lady," he waved towards the now-hidden toilet.

Astrid blushed, and took a step towards the instrument of relief (and torture), but hesitated. Waving a warning finger at her boyfriend who was still smirking, she cautioned him, "I don't want to hear any comments. Keep your ears and nose closed."

Hiccup just raised an eyebrow, "Might make it a bit hard to breathe, don't you think?"

"Just don't…don't," Astrid warned.

"Don't don't? Is that even possible?" Hiccup wanted to know. He only earned himself a glare, so he sighed and turned his back on her, stepping over to the furthest corner to help ease her mind.

"I'll stay over here, and watch the storm instead. Don't mind me."

Astrid ducked behind the blanket and cautiously investigated the low slung, chemical infused unit in front of her. She quietly lifted the lid and unzipped her shorts, easing them over her rump before haltingly lowering herself. It was still a few moments before she could relax enough to accomplish anything, heat rising up her cheeks as she thought about what Hiccup was being subjected to. She was still completely mortified about being in this position, but she had no options. She just wanted to get this over and done with, and never think about it again.

After she had finished, she took care to flush the tiny unit well before exiting from behind the curtain. She felt _much_ better, even if she was now very self-conscious.

Hiccup turned around from his spot in front of the window. He had pulled out one of the chairs and placed it so he could view the outside world. He grinned at his girlfriend. "Better?" he queried.

She nodded, her cheeks red. "Yes, thank you."

"Good! Now it's my turn," he informed her.

Astrid's jaw dropped. Of _course_ he would also need to go. She just hadn't considered that at all. So now it was her turn to be on the receiving end of any 'flavours'. Remembering their earlier conversation, she asked tentatively, "Er…you aren't like your father…are you?"

His grin stretched wider and he let her hang for a few moments before answering, "Nah! I'm much more subtle."

"Oh…good…" her voice waivered as she wondered how she should respond to that.

-oOo-

Later that evening they were lying on their backs on the single bed roll that Hiccup had unravelled, side by side, holding hands. There was just enough room for the two of them to squeeze together. Astrid had thrown one of the blankets over them, but had another handy in case it got colder overnight, something which Hiccup assured her would happen.

They were trying to guess what was happening at home.

"Do you think they might be okay?" Astrid asked about Toothless and Eret.

"I...I don't know, Astrid. We won't know that till we get home...But they're both tough," said Hiccup trying to reassure her as well as himself, even as the image of his best friend lying so still on the floor entered his mind unbidden and refused to shift.

She sighed. "Gobber would have found them, right?"

"Yeah…someone would have had to find them."

"I can't believe Eret did that. He sacrificed himself for us. I saw the look in his eyes, he knew he couldn't hold them back."

"I know. I feel so guilty about leaving them there. I don't know what I could have done, but maybe I could have done _something_ …It doesn't feel right, abandoning them," Hiccup's voice hitched as he berated himself for not trying harder.

"Hiccup. You weren't in any state to defend yourself, or me. Neither of us were. We had no choice…we had to go. Otherwise we might be…" her voice trailed off.

"Worse off than we are now?" Hiccup roughly finished for her, bitter about being pursued miles away from home, and having to hide away from a possible death sentence.

"This doesn't really feel like much of an improvement, does it?" he argued.

"N…no," she answered slowly. "But at least we are together, safe and dry."

He was silent at that. It was a few minutes before Astrid voiced her concerns again. "Do you think they would've realised we escaped?"

"I don't know…maybe they might suspect it. Dad would notice the bike missing."

"I wish we had some way of letting them know we are okay."

"If we could do that, we could get them to come rescue us," he answered resentfully.

Astrid could understand his cynicism.

"Yeah, we've certainly needed a lot of rescuing lately," she added lightly.

He snorted grimly.

"Well, hopefully we can get back home tomorrow, and the police would have found them by then. Is there enough petrol in the bike?"

"Yeah."

"Should we take some of the supplies from here…just in case?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "That would be wise. We might have to detour, and we don't want to end up the same as today."

"No." She sighed too, "When will this nightmare ever end?" she questioned, more to herself than Hiccup. He just gripped her hand a little firmer, before bringing her fingers to his lips for a fleeting kiss.

"Hopefully, tomorrow," he answered automatically, letting their hands drop back to their original position.

It was his turn to sigh in resignation, "Why don't we try and get some sleep, Astrid. We don't know what tomorrow will bring."

She nodded and yawned, then rolled over on her side facing away from Hiccup, releasing his hand as she went. He rolled with her, draping his arm over her waist, trapping her against him. She had loosened her braid earlier, and now wisps of her hair tickled his cheek.

Breathing against her neck, he whispered, "I love you, Astrid."

But he knew she wasn't going to respond. She was already asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Hiccup rolled over with a groan. He had slept fitfully last night, and his stiff body ached all over as a result of sleeping on a cold hard floor. He didn't know what time it was, but it felt early. The rain that had fallen so heavily overnight, had now stopped. Residual water dripping from the wet trees was the only sound to remind them of last night's storm. Heavy grey clouds were still present, filtering the little light that could make its way through the small observation window.

The young man rubbed his face with both his hands, attempting to bring some life into his cold, red raw skin. Riding the bike yesterday without any sort of protection, had made his skin dry and itchy. They had found some moisturizing lotion last night, but it had only slightly eased the stinging. His eyes were also bloodshot from the constant exposure.

He groaned to himself in despair, staring at the dim ceiling of the hide. His deepest, darkest thoughts had all surfaced during the night, keeping him tossing and turning. Gaining consciousness hadn't chased the nightmares away. He desperately wanted to wake up and find himself clean and fed in his own bed at home, Dagur and Heather nothing more than a bad dream. But reality had a way of reminding him that wasn't going to happen.

His limbs felt heavy, as if he had no control over them, and he found it hard to perform the simplest of movements. He pondered how they were going to make it back home today. Or if more trials were going to overtake them. Would Heather and her hired thugs find them? Had the police caught them yet? Had Eret and Toothless survived through their beatings?

He winced at the thought, knowing full well how painful recovery would be for them. Provided they hadn't…..

He shuddered.

No!

He refused to believe the worst about them. In his mind, he saw them alive and well, ready to welcome them back, and chiding them for being such fools and racing off.

He felt a slight movement, and his thoughts bounced back to the blonde beside him. His heart swelled with pride as he thought about how she had not complained once despite all the stuff that had happened. He imagined she would have to be struggling as much as he was, if not more, but they were both determined to keep on supporting each other until the end. He only hoped the end was a pleasant one…

Astrid rolled over, her hand sweeping in front of her searching for something. She found a warm firm body, and felt her way up until she found a recognizable stubbled jaw. "Hiccup?" she murmured, still half asleep.

"Mmm?" came the reply.

"Are you in my dreams?"

She heard a chuckle. "Only if they're good dreams."

"No, it's a nightmare."

He sighed, "Then we must be awake, cause nightmares are all I'm having at the moment."

Astrid groaned and rolled onto her back. "I was sure I would wake up in my bed, but I guess it's all real."

"Yeah…as real as it gets I'm afraid."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"How about we get ready, and go find the bike. We still have to hike out and that storm last night probably won't make the trail any easier to negotiate. If we can get back on the road early enough, maybe we'll get past them. We could be home by lunchtime, wondering what all the fuss was about."

She sneered into the gloom. She hoped with all her heart that would be exactly what would happen, but she couldn't help feeling that fate had other plans for them.

She was lost in her dark thoughts, and was surprised when Hiccup's fingers threaded their way through hers, pulling her hand towards his chapped lips for a raspy light kiss. "Thank you."

"For what?" she was puzzled. Had she done something?

"For being here with me, for being so brave and soldiering on despite our trials," he answered quietly.

She was silent, as she struggled against the instant tears that threatened to flow. She had to swallow hard, her dry throat complaining against the action, before she could reply, "Hiccup, it's me that should be thanking you…You're the one who has kept us together and safe, _you_ came up with all the ideas that have kept us alive so far."

"So far…." his voice sounded dejected in the dark.

"You'll get us home, I know it," she responded vehemently. "We'll go home, the bad guys will be behind bars, and we'll be able to get on with our lives as before. We'll even laugh about it."

Astrid heard him suck in his breath as she spoke, and she assumed he was as anxious as her to get back home. So she was caught off guard by his next question.

"Astrid, when we get home…are you going to live with your parents again?" he asked so plaintively that she thought he might be on the verge of tears.

"Uh…I don't know….I haven't even thought about it." Her mind reeled with the sudden idea of having to leave Hiccup, and go back 'home'. They hadn't left each other's side in a week, but all the intensity they had been living with surely made it feel a lot longer. The suggestion that she would have to leave him left such a massive hole in her chest, she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

Without realising it, she had gripped his hand hard in her distress. He sensed that it was a subject that now worried her, and he put forward a tentative proposal.

"Do you think…you would like to stay with me…and dad?" he queried softly. "At least for a little while…" he added hastily, in case she misconstrued what he was asking.

Astrid couldn't believe what she was hearing…her heart did somersaults in her chest, leaping with joy. Stay with Hiccup? She couldn't think of anything she would rather do more.

"What would your father think?" she asked carefully, knowing that people would talk if they knew she was living with Hiccup by choice, not necessity.

He understood what she was hinting at, and he sought to reassure her. "He wouldn't mind, he would love it. And he could be like our chaperone…to stop all the gossip. Although we wouldn't….we wouldn't do _that_ anyway," he finished lamely.

She rolled over slightly to give him a gentle tap on his shoulder with her fist. "No, we wouldn't do _that,_ " her face flushed red at the suggestion, and she was glad the darkness still covered them.

"So?..." he left the question in the air, rubbing his shoulder lightly. She hadn't hurt him, it was just an excuse to cover up his nerves.

"I don't know what people would think," she answered faintly, wanting desperately to just say 'yes', but knowing it wasn't as simple as that.

"What do _you_ want?" he insisted.

She was silent for a while, and Hiccup's hopes fell. He thought that maybe he'd pushed her too far.

"Yes," came her unsteady whisper.

"What?" Hiccup wasn't convinced he had just heard her say that magic word.

"Yes, I want to live with you," she spelled it out in a firmer voice.

His face split into a wide grin, relief flooding through his veins. He wanted to jump for joy, whereas only moments ago he didn't think he could even lift his own limbs.

"Do you mean it?" he was incredulous that she had said 'yes'. He felt he had to ensure he heard correctly.

"Of course I mean it, you Trojan," she confirmed in a deadpan voice.

Hiccup rolled over to his side, raising himself onto his elbow, leaning over her in the grey morning light.

"Then we'll make it happen," he declared fiercely. "I don't care what anyone thinks, I _never_ want you to leave my side."

She gave a strangled sob as he leaned down to reach her swollen lips with his own dry ones. He kissed her gently, but he could have hit her with a sledgehammer, it would have had the same effect. The jolt that rocked her body at his touch, promised of all the joys they had to look forward to in the future.

She wanted to stay there forever kissing Hiccup, but he pulled away from her, leaning back on his elbow again. She couldn't see his features clearly, but she imagined he would have been gazing at her intently, his green eyes dark and smoky. She loved seeing him like that, it reminded her that he cared about _her_ only, and no one else. It was a look that he reserved only for her in their closest moments.

She told him lightly, "Nothing's gonna happen if we don't move now, will it?"

He gave a short, dry laugh. "No, it won't."

He fell back down on the bedroll they had shared with a soft 'thump', his hand seeking hers. He gave a sigh, "I guess we better get this show on the road, then. I think the first thing I'll do when we get home, is have a hot shower."

"Yeah," she agreed. "That and drink a gallon of water."

He laughed, releasing her hand and sitting up on the floor. He had taken his prosthetic off last night, to give the skin on his stump as much of a chance to heal as possible.

He looked down at himself, still dressed in his filthy rumpled shirt and shorts from yesterday. They hadn't been dressed for a day of escaping and hiking at the time they were forced to flee. It was not ideal, but at least they were covered. He glanced at the woman beside him, who had lifted herself up on her elbows to look at him. She was no better off, wearing one of the more fitting t-shirts she was fond of, along with a shorter and tighter pair of shorts. Despite yesterday's filth still attached to her, he decided she was still beautiful to him.

He grinned at her. "Would ma'am prefer first use of the powder room?" he teased.

He was rewarded with a flush of red on her now visible cheeks. The light had gotten brighter during their conversation.

"You're never gonna let me live this down, are you?" she grumbled.

"This is a story to remember for the future, for when you take to bursting into the bathroom while _I'm_ on the toilet," he chuckled.

"As if," she snorted, but rose anyway to head towards the corner of the room.

Before she ducked behind the makeshift curtain, she reminded him, "Just…don't!"

He laughed as he strapped his prosthetic back on.

"Okay, no 'don'ts'," he promised.

-oOo-

In the end it was about mid-morning before they arrived back at the Harley, still hidden where they had left it the day before. It hadn't taken them long to pack a small bag with a few water bottles and some beef jerky. But when they went to tidy up the mess they had created, it had taken them a little longer than expected.

The portaloo needed to be emptied and cleaned, and in no way was Astrid going to allow Hiccup to do it. But he still had to dig the hole required, chuckling all the while as he dug up the wet earth with a short spade.

Then Astrid had wanted to freshen up, so they had trekked a short distance to a very shallow stream. Hiccup had to stand on guard against 'bears and wolves' while she knelt in the water and splashed at herself, in a fruitless effort to clear the grime and sweat. Hiccup hadn't bothered despite her protests of having to be downwind of him on the bike. He knew it would be a waste of time, and it was.

Astrid had rolled her eyes when he reminded her of this, after an exhausting two hour trek back through the storm ravaged forest. He had brought a small axe with them, knowing they would need it to clear the fallen trees and branches out of their way. A few times they had accidentally wandered off the path, before backtracking and searching carefully for where they needed to be.

So whatever benefit Astrid had gained from the small stream, had long since disappeared. They were both red and sweating from their exertions, a multitude of scratches along their exposed limbs, and their hair matted and dirty from being tangled in the bushes.

She groaned as they considered the last hurdle... the bushes around the bike. It had taken enough effort to push the heavy Harley in there in the first place, but now they had to push it out while their muscles were screaming from the severe workout they had just gone through.

"Can't we just cut down a bush and ride it out?" she complained, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

Hiccup stood with his hands on his hips, sucking in deep breaths of precious air into his tortured lungs, his shirt soaked in sweat. His face was distorted as his exhausted body complained against the treatment he had wrought upon it. His stump had started to hurt again, but he was forcing himself to not limp.

"That might be a good idea, Astrid. Let's look on the other side."

Astrid pushed herself off her knees, lifting a hand to push steamy sweat drenched locks of hair off her face. She followed Hiccup to the other side of the bushes to check out their options. After pushing through the shrubbery, he pulled back out again.

"I think we might be in luck," he panted, reluctantly picking up the axe again.

Taking a deep breath for motivation, he leant forward to attack the base of the unfortunate shrub directly in front of the bike's tyre. Astrid observed the jarring motion of the bush as her boyfriend struck blow after blow against the greenery. Finally, it fell forward over Hiccup's bent back. Astrid stepped forward to take hold of the branches, hoping to reduce the impact of the load on his fatigued body.

She didn't quite succeed.

"Oww!"

"Sorry!" She hurried to pull the shrub off him, creating a large gap where the plant used to be, revealing the black and chrome beast hidden within.

"At last!" Hiccup cried.

"Yes!" Astrid smiled wearily. Now they could go home!

Hiccup pushed his way through the natural barrier, and carefully lifted his leg over the seat of the bike. He turned the key, flicked the 'kill' switch to on, then pressed the starter button. The motor kicked over, but refused to start. Hiccup frowned at the bike, while Astrid waited with baited breath. He pressed the starter button again.

This time the bike fired up, the glorious rumble of the engine one of the sweetest sounds the pair had ever heard. They grinned at each other like idiots as they breathed again. He stayed in the saddle, his hands on his hips, while he waited for the motor to warm up.

Eventually, he leant forward to take control of the handgrips and pushed the bike forward to release the kickstand. He twisted the throttle just enough to ease the bike out of the bushes. Hiccup cringed, choosing to ignore the screeching of the branches dragging over his once pristine paintwork.

Once he was free of the bushes, Hiccup took the bag from Astrid and pulled out a water bottle, handing it to Astrid. She took a deep drink before handing it back to Hiccup who promptly drained the rest. She turned her attention to the saddlebags, extracting their helmets and jackets. They didn't need to suffer the same windburn as they did yesterday.

She handed him his helmet, and he swapped it for the bag of supplies. She packed the water and food into the saddlebag before picking up her own helmet, turning on the mic and placing it on over her head.

Next she handed him his jacket which he accepted gratefully, sliding his arms through the sleeves and zipping it up. She did the same. The last items were the sunglasses.

"Ready?" came the voice over the speaker.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she declared, positioning herself to fling one shorts-clad leg over the seat. T-shirts and shorts did nothing to protect them from the elements, but jackets and helmets added so much more to their comfort.

When she was seated behind him, she gripped his hips and squeezed gently. With that, he kicked the bike into first gear and twisted the throttle gently to negotiate through the bushes until they reached the dirt path.

He picked up speed on the dirt, heading for the bitumen. When they finally reached the turnoff to the highway, Hiccup paused.

This was it.

Checking for traffic, and especially for any white vans, he rolled the bike and his precious passenger gently onto the blacktop. This was a moment that Hiccup and Astrid had been dreaming about since yesterday.

The static crackled to life in Astrid's ear.

"We're going home."

Home.

She'd never heard a sweeter word.

-oOo-

The young couple on the bike were quieter than usual, each lost to their own thoughts. They had been riding the highway back to Berk, back to home, but both were edgier than cats on a hot tin roof. They were only out here because they had been chased by Heather, madman Dagur's even more beserk sister. They had no way of knowing if the police had finally cleared the way for them, or if she was still out there, waiting to pounce.

Every white van coming towards them triggered off a panic attack, but as each harmless driver continued on their way, they learned to breathe again.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of white vans.

After each sighting, their anxiety levels would rise another notch until they were so agitated they were almost bouncing off the seat.

When they had been riding for about half an hour, Hiccup glanced at the fuel tank gauge in concern. He estimated they had about another half hour's riding to go, but the needle was edging closer to 'Empty'. He hoped it would be enough for the trip. He wasn't sure how far he could push the bike before it ran out completely.

Another white van appeared in the distance in front of them, and he felt Astrid go stiff behind him, her fingers digging into his hips. He kept a careful eye on it as it drew closer, but it was still too far away to notice any distinctive features about it.

There were no other vehicles on the road with them, only that one white van. Hiccup had to keep his eyes on the road, but he felt Astrid's gasp as she recognized something. _That_ was the van that had tried to run her over!

Hiccup glanced over to the box shaped vehicle. It was also the van that he had noticed outside the house when they had to flee!

They were back!

Hiccup started to panic. What were they going to do? The van was drawing closer and he felt for sure Heather would have noticed them by now. They weren't hard to miss. He looked to the side of the road, but there was too much of a drop off, leading to thick scrub. Guaranteed disaster. Hiccup frantically scoured the road ahead and only then did he notice a detour, heading for parts unknown down a narrow side road. He knew more about the island from the air than he did on the ground, but he had never been down that road and did not know where it led.

But it was an avenue of hope.

The van suddenly veered onto their side of the road, deliberately targeting them! They were headed for a collision course! The turnoff and the van were both in front of the young couple, and it was impossible to say which one they were going to meet first.

The Harley was a glorious bike to ride, but its build did not allow for fast manoeuvring. So Hiccup needed to make some quick decisions about where he was going to aim his wheels.

He decided to gun it.

"Hiccuuuup! What are you doing?" came a panicked voice in his ear.

He ignored her, as he grimly leaned forward and focused on what he needed to do. Accelerating the bike, they drew closer to the van... dangerously close.

Astrid was terrified, and hung tightly onto the crazy man in front, who was currently playing 'chicken' with a madwoman who had every intention of taking them out. The hard way. She _really_ hoped Hiccup knew what he was doing, because she couldn't see how this was going to end in any other way but a total disaster. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Hiccup doggedly pulled his bike over to the right, and the van readjusted to match his direction. He rolled back to the left, but the van stayed with him. The gap was rapidly closing between them and he was running out of road...and options. The turnoff was just there, but it may as well been a hundred miles away.

Hiccup stayed on track, aiming straight for the van. He knew now, that Heather was going to reach him first, but he could see a very thin thread of hope. One that had a huge flashing neon sign over it saying, " _Impossibly ridiculous! Downright foolhardy! Guaranteed to get you killed!'_ Hiccup chose to read the fine print on the bottom, _'Might just work...maybe.'_

He edged slightly to the right. The van followed. He stayed there. They were close enough now that he could see the grim focus of the driver. She was sneering at him. Determination flooded through him, as he waited another moment longer...they were so close he could hear the screaming of the van's engine over his own noisy Harley...Astrid closed her eyes in horror and screwed up her face tightly, tucking herself in tight behind Hiccup, certain this was it. She counted.

3...2...1...

At the last possible millisecond, Hiccup yanked the handlebars to the left and gunned it harder, the bike reacting instantly. They scraped past so close, that both riders had to pull their knees in tight to avoid hitting the van. They had done it! Hiccup had somehow managed to get past them, and onto the side road. But their troubles weren't over yet.

The buffeting they received from the larger vehicle pushed Hiccup to his limit, causing the bike to sway heavily. It was sliding from under him, and he had to fight with everything he had to keep them upright and away from the crumbling edge of the road.

Astrid had been caught unprepared when Hiccup hastily changed direction and it was only her innate sense of balance that kept her in her seat. Her heart was in her throat as she did her best to stay with him, hanging on tightly as she tried very hard not to make any movements that would increase the erratic action of the bike.

But finally Hiccup's strength and determination pulled them through! Although their elation did not last for long.

The van had not been able to match Hiccup's last second change in direction and had shot past them up the highway. A squeal of rubber on road behind them indicated Heather had slammed on the brakes and was now turning to finish off her hapless victims.

Hiccup grimly revved the bike, to get as much distance between themselves and the van as possible. He worriedly glanced at the fuel gauge again. It was almost on empty, and increasing their speed like this would only make the needle drop faster.

His heart beat wildly in his chest. For the first time, he felt truly terrified. They were on an unknown road, with very little fuel, and a murderous maniac screaming up behind them. There appeared to be no escape route for them. It felt like this was the end for them. And judging by the tight grip on his hips, Astrid felt the same.

"I'm sorry, dad."


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry to leave you hanging for so long... Hiccup and Astrid were in a lot of trouble when we left them. Let's see what happens next...**

* * *

Hiccup hurtled up the side road, desperately searching for any avenue of escape. It seemed they had entered into more farmland, as the road was devoid of any traffic. They hadn't yet seen any houses, only empty fields.

He groaned to himself, praying for a miracle.

"Hold on, Astrid. I don't know how this is going to end."

She pinched his hips in reply, her throat too tightly closed to make any verbal response.

They hadn't gone far when Hiccup checked his side mirror. The shaky reflection of the white van had appeared, taunting him.

The race was on.

Hiccup grimly twisted the throttle to gain more speed, till the engine was almost at screaming point. They had managed to escape yesterday, but today there were no guarantees.

The road turned to the right and he lost sight of the white van momentarily. He sought to make the most of it and put as much space between them and Heather as possible.

He glanced at the fuel gauge again, the needle was wavering dangerously over the 'E'. That extra spurt of speed had really impacted his fuel reserves. Frantically he searched the road ahead. If they ran out of fuel, they were going to have to pull over and make a run for it. Astrid would have a better chance of escape, but Hiccup knew that in his current physical state he would be easily caught.

Just then, they heard a sound that chilled both of them to the bone. The bike started to stutter, starved of fuel.

"We're out of fuel!" he yelled frantically to Astrid.

Hiccup quickly flicked to the reserve.

"We need to find somewhere safe to hide," he told her desperately.

"There!" Astrid pointed out an overgrown path to the right.

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you!" he muttered. "Let's hope this will lead us somewhere safe, hey? Maybe this is the chance we need." He anxiously hoped the seriously overgrown dirt road would put off their followers.

He felt her wrap her arms around his chest momentarily, "We'll get out of this Hiccup. I know we will," she declared grimly, refusing to give in to the visions of what _could_ happen to them.

He applied the brakes and twisted the handgrip to drop the revs on the motor, the thump-thump of the motor suddenly sounding unnaturally loud in the silent countryside.

They turned onto the dirt path. "Keep an eye out for anything useful," he told the girl behind him.

Suddenly he spied something, "There! Look!" he called out, "I think I can see an old house up between the trees."

"Maybe someone will be at home?" Astrid asked hopefully. "They might even take us in."

Hiccup just humphed.

He turned the throttle gently, but it didn't matter anymore. The bike sputtered slowly along, before finally dying.

"Well that's it then," he muttered quietly. "We're stuck here unless we can find another way out."

Hiccup jerked his thumb backwards to indicate to Astrid to get off the bike. She rapidly complied before he jumped off as well.

"Help me push it behind this bush! Quickly!" he ordered.

She grabbed hold of the rack and pushed hard, at the same time as Hiccup pushed on the handlebars of the heavy bike.

"Hopefully they won't see the bike from the road if we hide it well enough," he continued. His voice was heavy with concern.

They barely had enough time to push the bike behind the shrubbery, before the whine of the van's engine could be clearly heard coming up the road.

"Quick! Get down!" he hissed, grabbing Astrid's wrist and pulling her down into a crouch behind the bike, just as the white van flashed past, disappearing up the road.

Astrid shivered in shock, her ears straining for the sound of the vehicle coming back.

"Do you think they saw us?" she whispered faintly. "They must have seen us," she was almost hysterical.

Hiccup quietly wrapped his warm arms around her, and she leaned back into him. "Hey…it's okay," he whispered to her. "Whatever happens, we'll get through it together, okay?"

They waited for the inevitable.

Time passed.

There was no sound at all, save for the breeze rustling through the leaves and the soft singing of a lonely bird.

"Eerie, isn't it," she whispered. "How quiet it all is, I mean."

He only nodded. He knew what she meant.

Cautiously, he loosened his hold on her, sliding his hand down her arm to capture her hand instead. He carefully raised himself up into a semi-crouch to crane his neck towards the direction of where the van had gone.

"Where are they?" she asked worriedly.

"Maybe they think we're still ahead of them?" he whispered back.

"Maybe?...Why are we whispering?" she said quietly.

He shrugged, before nodding back towards the house they had seen. "Let's see if anyone is home before they come back."

"Sounds like a plan. Probably better get rid of these first," she indicated towards their helmets.

"Yeah…no use to us now," he agreed bitterly, as he undid the chin strap before ripping his helmet off. He quickly attached it to the saddlebag, as she did the same with her own.

He took hold of her hand again, before he sloped towards the weather beaten home, pulling her behind him with his grip firm on her fingers.

They paused when they drew closer. From here they could see the house was quite derelict, with the front door hanging from its hinges, the front windows broken with torn curtains blowing gently in and out of the openings. The few stairs to the front porch looked as if termites had taken more than their fair share of the wood, and they could even see where some of the decking boards on the patio were lifted and fragile. The whole scene was like some sort of a death trap. The overgrown weeds surrounding the entire structure like some sort of green sea led them to only one obvious conclusion.

"No one has lived here for a very long time," stated Hiccup.

"Yah think?" Astrid shot back. "What do we do now? There's no other doors to knock on…."

Hiccup surveyed their surroundings, noting several barn like structures behind the house.

"Let's go explore over there. Maybe we'll find something useful."

She silently followed him as he picked a course through the bushes. They very nervously kept their ears strained for the returning of the white van. But it hadn't returned...yet.

The pair reached the first building, the smallest barn. The door had already fallen off and laid rotting on the ground in front of them.

"Nothing here except for some old wheat growing through the floor. Musta been a food storage shed, hey?" she noted.

"Probably….What about those two bigger barns over there?" He pointed towards two buildings set further away from the house, almost in the middle of an old field.

"The smaller one is closer," observed Astrid.

"Yeah, but I think we might find something in the larger one," said Hiccup thoughtfully. "Call it a hunch…but I'd like to check that one out first."

They headed over, finding all the doors were still miraculously attached, although not by much.

"We can either go for the smaller side door, or try and open the big sliders," noted Hiccup.

"Me thinks the smaller one might be easier," said Astrid drily.

He grinned at her, "Good plan…."

He tried the door but it wouldn't budge.

"Give me a hand, Astrid. The hinges have rusted shut."

"Okay. What do you want me to do?"

"Grab the handle with me. The wood looks like its rotten enough to give way if we tug on it hard enough."

"What are we waiting for, then?" was her reply.

Astrid grabbed the bottom of the handle, while Hiccup took hold of the top and placed his foot on the wall as leverage.

"Urgh! Pull!" he grunted.

"Watch out!" she yelled, as the door suddenly gave way, forcing them to jump backwards to avoid the falling debris. A dust cloud erupted as the wood hit the dry ground.

"Cough! Cough! Well, this is just great…" drawled Hiccup, as they waved their hands to clear the air.

"Hey! It worked didn't it? Now let's go see if there's anything useful in there," she retorted.

Hiccup shot her an amused look, before he stepped into the darkened building. The small door did not admit much light, but he could see pinpoints of light shafting into the cavernous room. It was a few moments before he could adjust to the gloom. But what he saw made him gasp.

"Hiccup? Are you alright?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, stepping through the doorway.

"It's pretty dark in here. Take a moment to get used to it first," he warned her.

She stepped inside, momentarily blinded. But as she adjusted, what she saw made her gasp.

"Hiccup! It's…it's a plane!"

He turned to her with a grin, "Yeah! A crop-dusting plane!"

"Uh, uh…you are _not_ thinking about that!" she exclaimed loudly, shaking her head and backing towards the open door.

"Astrid, be reasonable. What other choice do we have?" he pleaded with her in a similar way a father would plead with a frightened child.

"Be reasonable? That thing is _old!_ Why can't we just go find a neighbour somewhere?" she said in desperation.

He spoke to her soothingly, "We can't do that, Astrid, and you know it. They were too close this time. If we walk out there now, they'll see us for sure."

"You don't know that!" her voice became higher pitched in her fear.

"Astrid….We don't even know if there _are_ any neighbours. We've never been down here before. This could be the only house for miles!"

"Well, why don't we just camp again. Maybe they'll get tired and drive off."

"Yeah, cause _that_ plan's been working so well for us, so far," muttered Hiccup darkly.

Astrid didn't respond. She only glared at him.

"Please Astrid….do you trust me?" he asked tentatively.

"What?" she spoke in disbelief.

"Your heard me…do you trust me?" he asked, his hand outstretched.

The blonde girl's face twitched with indecision. She couldn't believe she was even contemplating this madcap plan.

Finally she spoke, "Of _course_ I trust _you_!...It's that prehistoric _plane_ that I don't trust!" she said with obvious annoyance, smacking away his hand.

Hiccup breathed out a sigh of relief, as he smirked at her.

"Do you only mistrust every plane I work on? Or is it planes in general?" he asked mildly.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't kid yourself, Haddock."

Astrid turned to the ancient metal monolith before her.

"If you stare at it any harder, you'll burn holes in the metal," Hiccup joked.

She ignored him for a moment. "Do you think it still works?"

Hiccup's smile faltered. "I don't know. It doesn't look like it's seen any action for quite a long time. Even if it did work, we would need fuel and oil and I doubt we would ever find any…."

"Like this?" she asked, pointing to a large fuel stand with faded letters written on it that clearly stated 'Aviation Fuel'.

He grinned, "Yeah, just like that." Astrid smirked.

Hiccup stumbled in his haste to draw closer to the fuel stand, and rapped the metallic side of the tank with his knuckles, his hand drifting upwards as he listened to the echos.

"Listen to this! Can you hear that?" he asked excitedly, knocking high up the tank. "That means there's enough fuel in there."

He was eager as he picked up the nozzle hanging limply on the end of the fuel line, giving it an examinatory squeeze. He sniffed the air as precious liquid was expelled from the nozzle, "Ahh! And that's the delightful smell of aviation fuel! Eureka! We've hit the jackpot!" he exclaimed.

"Yay us.." droned Astrid. "Now we've got the petrol, we just need a working plane."

Hiccup smirked at her, "Where's your sense of adventure, Astrid?"

"At home, tucked up in bed where it's safe."

He laughed, heading for the hunk of metal sitting silently in the barn, unzipping his jacket as he went.

"Yuck! It's totally covered in dirt…and is that bird droppings?" Astrid asked in disgust, taking his jacket from him.

He only shot her a look, as he dragged over a sturdy looking metal box and stood on it to lift the engine cover.

He stuck his hand inside, muttering to himself as he poked and prodded the engine, scanning it with an experienced eye.

"Whatcha looking for?" asked Astrid, standing a few steps away.

"Just checking to see if the engine has seized or not," he answered distractedly, without lifting his head. "Could you see if there are any tools please Astrid?"

"What did your last slave die of?" she grumbled to herself, but still carefully placed his jacket on the tip of the dusty wing, before wandering closer to the back wall where a long work bench was laid out.

"There are old tools everywhere," she called back to him, "Which ones do you want?"

"Some kind of wrench would be good," his muffled voice came back to her. "A flat screwdriver would be nice too."

Finding two likely looking instruments, Astrid carried them over, reaching up to him. "What about these?"

Hiccup glanced at them briefly, before taking them from her.

"Yeah, these are good. Could you maybe check out the cockpit? See if the instrument panel is still intact?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure. It's not as if I have anything else to do."

Astrid scrambled over the wings to reach the cabin door.

"This is one of the worst things you have ever asked me to do," she complained, frowning. She coughed as the disturbed dust floated in the air around her. "Who knows what kind of revolting things are up here. You're just lucky I'm such a nice person."

"I promise you a long hot bath when we get home," Hiccup placated her, his head still stuck in the engine bay.

"You'd better," she growled, yanking on the handle and nearly falling backwards off the wing when it opened a lot quicker than she expected.

"Be careful up there…too easy to fall off," he warned her, much too late to be useful.

"Thanks….I'll take that into consideration," she replied drily.

She yelped and nearly fell off the wing again, when something _live_ jumped past her, scrambling over the wing and disappearing over the edge before she could regain her senses.

Astrid shivered. "Uh, Hiccup? I think something else has already moved in," she told him, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Rats! Why does it have to be _rats_!" she groaned. "They leave nasty surprises everywhere," she shivered again in revulsion.

"Just glare at them. That will scare them off. At least, it works for me," he teased.

"Maybe I'll just glare at you instead," she retaliated.

"Ouch!" he winced.

Astrid carefully opened the door again, ready to slam it shut if anything else as much as _breathed_ in there. But she couldn't see anything more, so she opened the door up fully.

"Uh, Hiccup," she asked, a note of uncertainty in her voice. "You do realise there is only one seat in here."

"Yeah. We'll just have to squeeze in tight," he replied nonchalantly, as if that was the only way to travel.

"How are we going to do that?" she questioned in disbelief.

He lifted his head to give her a knowing gaze, dirt and grease smeared across his cheeks. "You'll have to sit in my lap," he told her carefully, gauging her response.

"Oh," she answered quietly. "Sounds like fun. How will we know if this machine even works?" she asked, as her cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

Hiccup sat back and wiped his long locks out of his eyes with the back of one filthy hand, inadvertently leaving another streak of dirt across his forehead. "That's what I'm trying to work out now," he reminded her with a long level look.

Turning back to the motor he asked again, 'So, is there an instrument panel in there?"

She peered back inside the cabin of the Ag-plane. "Yeah."

"Good. Are the controls still there?"

"Yeah, looks all good, except for the rats nest," she told him with a shudder.

"Rats nest? Oh no!" he groaned, lifting his head from his work.

"Why? Don't you like rats?" she gloated.

"No, not that. Rats' nests usually mean chewed wires. And if they've chewed the wires we're gone," he was worried, his eyes huge as he stared at her.

Astrid frowned and chewed on her lip, as he abruptly reminded her of their dire circumstances.

He levelled his gaze at her, "Astrid, I need you to find the torch that should be at the bottom of the saddlebags. Do you think you could get it for me?" he asked carefully.

While they were in the darkened barn, they could delude themselves into thinking they were on some sort of exploration trip. But exposing themselves outside….that's where harsh reality was. Death was not too far away…and it was actively searching for them.

Astrid braced her shoulders, and straightened her back.

"I'll be fine, Hiccup." She wanted to sound self-assured, but in truth her knees were shaking a little. But she knew she needed to do everything she could to help them get out of this disastrous situation.

He studied her face intently for a moment, before nodding.

"Be quick….and stay hidden," he advised grimly.

She said nothing as she slid down the wing, landing on the bare dirt with a soft 'whump'. Heading outside, she paused at the doorway momentarily, before disappearing into the sunlight.

Hiccup watched her go, saying a silent prayer as she left.

Turning his attention back to the engine, he worked more feverishly. He _had_ to get this machine working…it was the only hope they had right now.

It seemed like a lifetime, but it was only a few minutes before she returned, breathlessly holding out the torch in triumph. She also had the bag with the water and food slung across her shoulder.

His face split into a huge grin of relief when he saw her.

"You found it! Great!"

"Of course, I did," she replied, sounding offended. But the tiny lift at the corner of her lips gave her away.

She reached up to hand the torch to him, and he quickly scuttled across the plane's wing to check inside the cockpit. Astrid watched in interest as his legs poked out through the door as he laid on the floor to investigate under the 'dash'.

"What tha'?…" she heard him say.

"What is it?" she said apprehensively.

His face reappeared as he sat up in shock.

"I don't believe it! The wires are all still intact!" he told her incredulously.

"That's a good thing, right?" she asked nervously, worried about his stunned expression.

He grinned at her, "Yeah, that's a good thing. I didn't think it would be possible, but maybe someone's looking out for us."

She snorted in disdain. "Well they have a funny way of doing it."

"Don't knock the small things, Astrid," he warned, as he crawled back to the engine bay with the torch.

He positioned the light inside the bay so that he could examine the engine more thoroughly.

"Astrid," he commanded urgently, "We need to get this plane working…and working soon. I need some more tools. Could you find them for me please?" He gave her a short list of items to look for.

"If it's there, I'll find it," she promised him.

The blonde woman wasted no time searching amongst the scattered rusting tools, locating the items he had requested. But her eyes lit up when she found a container of grease.

Hiccup gave her a grateful grin when he saw it.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

She blushed, "Not today." It was mind blowing how three simple words affected her so physically.

"Then I love you Astrid. You're amazing."

"Well," she muttered, "I should find tins of grease more often."

He chuckled then turned his attention back to his work. Astrid placed the bag and her jacket with Hiccup's, before climbing back onto the wing. Using a stick she had found, she dislodged the beginnings of a rats nest out of the cockpit.

She shuddered as the mess of dried grass was ejected onto the wing, and she stabbed at it mercilessly causing it to slide off onto the ground below.

"You know that's just grass, right?" Hiccup asked wryly, noting her ferocity.

"A _rat_ made it. It's totally covered in rat…stuff…" she flustered lamely.

"Rat…stuff?" he asked, one eyebrow lifted.

"You know what I mean," she grumbled. "I don't like rats, okay? You know that," she protested.

"Yeah," he grinned. "I do."

"Come _on_ ," she complained. "Everyone's afraid of something. What are you afraid of?" she demanded.

"You," was the honest reply.

"Me?"

"You," he confirmed. "You're the scariest, frightening, and the most beautiful person in the whole world. I'm terrified of doing something stupid to provoke your wrath upon me," he admitted. "But when you love me…" he sighed, his face softening wistfully, "it's as if heaven itself had opened up to me."

"Well," she was disconcerted by his loving words, "Just….don't do something stupid, okay?"

He grinned cheekily at her, "Okay, but no promises."

He stuck his head back into the engine for one last tweak, before standing back.

"I think I've done all I can in here, without stripping the motor down and building it back up again," he said with a heavy sigh. "Let's check the outside."

Hiccup grabbed the torch and stepped off the metal box, before circling the plane. He checked that the flaps, the ailerons and the rudder all moved freely. At the same time he inspected for corrosion or weak spots that might prove their undoing in the air.

The tyres were quite clearly flat, and the rubber degraded, but Hiccup had noted a spare set leaning up against a pile of other stuff, covered in cobwebs. Having a working plane engine would do nothing for them, if they couldn't roll down the runway on a full set of intact rubber.

"Help me," Hiccup asked Astrid as he pointed towards the extra tyres. The blonde woman promptly grabbed the first one, rolling it to where he was struggling to remove the first flat tyre. She said nothing about the cobwebs or the other creepy crawlies there, and he was proud of her stoicism in the face of having to confront some of her inborn fears.

The two worked as a team as they fought with the rusty bolts and put on the 'newer' rubber. But finally they finished.

"Phew!" sighed Astrid with relief, her face covered in dust and grease marks, her hair in disarray.

"I'm _really_ gonna look forward to a long, hot soak," she sighed wistfully.

"What? You don't go for the grunge look?" Hiccup teased her, opening his arms wide and pretending to come forward to hug her.

"Don't you dare!" she huffed, backing away from him.

He pointedly eyed her up and down, "Uh, I don't think you can say much. You're just as filthy as I am!"

She glanced down at herself wryly and shrugged. "Suppose I am."

Hiccup raised one eyebrow and nodded in agreement.

He pushed the tyre jack and tools to one side.

"Only one thing left," he muttered more to himself as his mind raced with the possibility of actually pulling off the impossible, flying an ancient aircraft to escape inevitable death.

The fuel tank opened with a hiss as pressurized fumes escaped the empty space. Hiccup carefully checked over what he could. It was never going to be a textbook inspection, but he wasn't going to allow _too_ much to chance.

"Let's fill this baby up, and see what she can do," he spoke quickly, glancing up at the girl beside him.

Hiccup strode over to the petrol stand, carefully picking up the nozzle end of the fuel pipe. He gingerly stretched it towards the plane's empty tank, hoping that the perishing rubber hose would hold out.

Thankfully it did.

Astrid found herself holding her breath as she watched this impossible act, putting petrol into a degraded machine that they hoped would keep them in the air long enough to make it home.

Hiccup knew there was not quite enough fuel to get them home, but hoped he would be able to land it safely further down the highway. But he didn't tell his girlfriend that. He could just imagine it, _'Oh, by the way Astrid, we can fly the plane but we'll probably have to crash land it. There's not enough petrol.'_

He 'humphed' quietly to himself, pulling out the nozzle and replacing the cap, making sure it was twisted on tight.

"I think we're as ready as we're going to be," he turned to the blonde beside him.

"Do you think it will fly?" she questioned, eyeing the aging plane with distrust and apprehension.

He shrugged, "Only one way to find out."

She sighed heavily, "I was afraid you were gonna say that."

"Come on, let's get these doors open," he encouraged.

Somehow, they managed to force the two massive sliding doors open. The rusted metal tracks screamed and groaned in protest against the foreign movements. Astrid had to grit her teeth while she shuddered against the sound. Her overwhelming desire was to stick her fingers in her ears and curl into a foetal position until the noise had stopped, but she couldn't do that while both of them were required to force the doors open. It was worse than any blackboard, nail scraping torture she'd ever had to listen to. So she was filled with instant relief when Hiccup called out 'Stop!'

"Thank goodness!" she lifted her hands from the ancient door, and frantically rubbed her ears to remove the screeching sound that still echoed in her head.

"Last step, Astrid. We have to pull the plane out. We won't have time to clear the runway, so it will be a bumpy ride. Okay?" he asked anxiously, waiting for her response. If she decided to back out now, they would be lost. They _had_ to get into this plane. There was no other way out.

She gulped nervously and raised her hand to shield her eyes against the early afternoon sun and peered down the still discernible runway buried under a small forest of plants. How on earth were they going to fly a plane down that? She shuddered to think. She _really_ hoped Hiccup knew what he was doing.

Hiccup let out a deep sigh of relief when she nodded at him.

"Let's get this show on the road," he muttered to himself, feeling on edge. He positioned himself behind a wing.

"Grab the tail and push," he directed to Astrid.

She dutifully walked to the rear of the plane, and glanced around the tail uncertainly, not sure which part she was supposed to grab.

"Any part will be fine. It won't break," said Hiccup, noting her indecisiveness.

She placed her hands under the rudder, and on his signal of 'three', they pushed on the aircraft, grunting with the effort. The unevenness of the bare earth floor meant the plane was slightly trapped. They had to rock it, but persistence paid off in the end and soon the air tractor was once again standing proudly in the sunshine, ready to work again. Astrid and Hiccup stood panting slightly from the effort.

"What a machine!" Hiccup enthused, the mustard yellow plane appearing more tacky brown with its covering of grime. He didn't notice it, he understood that under all that pumped the heart of a workhorse, one that would keep trudging on, regardless. He only hoped the renowned robustness of the plane would not fail him now.

"What's the plan?" Astrid interrupted his musings.

"I'll get in and get it started. Once the engine fires up, you can jump in with me and we'll be off."

"Sounds simple enough...If it doesn't explode first."

"Don't be so negative. Just because it hasn't flown in who-knows how many years….doesn't mean it can't be done."

She snorted as he climbed over the wing towards the cockpit door. After he had settled himself in, she handed him his jacket which he promptly put on. She already had hers on and held out the bag of food and water for him to pack in the small space behind the seat. He extended his hand in an invitation to join him on the wing.

She suddenly baulked at the reality of climbing into a rickety old single seater plane and trusting her life to it, preferring to stay on the ground.

"Come on…" urged Hiccup, seeing her mistrust. "We've made it this far….don't pull back on me now."

Her troubled blue eyes sought his out, not sure if this was such a good idea. His steady green gaze comforted her, even if she wasn't exactly reassured.

"I promise you, Astrid," he told her in a calm, low voice. "We're going to make it home.

The young woman closed her eyes momentarily to gather her courage, then opened them to look directly into his sincere green eyes, before finally committing herself to him. She reached out to accept the hand he held out to her, allowing her to climb up and kneel on the wing beside the open door.

Once she was stable on the wing, Hiccup took a deep breath and turned back to check over the gauges before him. He didn't know if this was going to work or not. He was already going against all the lessons he had ever learnt about flying. But for now they had no choice. He was going to have to fly by the seat of his pants.

They were committed to this journey. They had nowhere else to go. Now there was only one final task…turning the key.

"Hold on!" he warned the girl perched gingerly on the wing beside him. Hiccup held his breath as he turned the key. To his surprise the engine stuttered…and quickly died.

He exhaled rapidly, his hopes somewhat deflated. Beside him, Astrid gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, willing the old plane to start.

Gripping the key silently, the young pilot twisted it again. The engine stuttered once more, the propeller performing a lazy wave, before falling silent.

"Come on! You can do it!" Hiccup urged, his jaw tense.

Astrid held rigidly onto the wing, praying in her heart for the plane to be brought back to life.

A sudden commotion from the highway grabbed both their attentions, and their faces swivelled towards the sound. What they saw filled them with instant dread.

The white van had found them.

"Hiccup!" cried Astrid frantically.

"I know, I know," he answered tightly.

They could see it pulling off the highway, although thankfully it had to slow down to pick its way through the shrubbery. Had they seen them? Hiccup didn't want to wait and find out.

He urgently turned his attention back to the key.

"Come on, girl! We've gotta go! _Now_!" he cried as he twisted the key for a third time. Once again the propeller started up a lazy twirl, the motor stuttering…..before dying once more.

Astrid patted the plane wing in a frantic rapid motion. "You can do it, girl! You're such a strong plane, the two of us will be nothing for you. Just please start," she desperately begged the hunk of silent metal.

Hiccup was grimly focused on the task at hand, " _Start_!" he practically yelled, turning the key for a fourth time.

Astrid turned her head back to the approaching vehicle. Her breath hitched in her throat, catching Hiccup's attention.

The van had seen them and was picking up speed, knocking over shrubbery in its beeline fixation on them.

"Hiccup! _Start the plane_!" she yelled frantically, tensing her muscles ready for the opportunity to leap into Hiccup's lap as soon as the plane kicked over.

The next moment she was forced to duck as gunshot was fired towards them. She gasped in fear as Hiccup grabbed her hand and yanked her roughly into his lap.

"Shut the door!" he ordered and she rapidly complied, leaning out to grab the handle and pulling it tight.

"NOW! You hunk of rusty metal! Start _NOW_!" he yelled, twisting the key again, his arm around the blonde girl in his lap.

More shots could be heard, pinging off the metal of the fuselage. The van had already edged its way past the first small barn and was only a few seconds away from reaching them.

The plane spluttered, and Hiccup's heart dropped as he heard the motor die off again…before it picked up. His heart raced even faster as the engine rattled and whined, but somehow it kept turning over. He had no time to celebrate, they needed to move!

"Hiccup!" Astrid warned fiercely through gritted teeth. The van was rapidly closing in.

He mumbled a curse under his breath, struggling to take control of the throttle with his arms full of a certain blonde woman. He pushed the throttle forward and somehow the plane moved, accelerating down the runway, jostling them as it rolled forward.

"Here's hoping everything holds together," he told her, his jaw clenched as he focused on getting the plane airborne.

"Just hurry, please," she begged.

He had no time for niceties and pulled out every trick he'd ever learned from Gobber, and some he had learnt by himself, to get the plane moving faster.

More gunshots rang out, the bullets glancing across the wings. Hiccup frowned in furious concentration and his lips were pulled tight into a thin line as he focussed on encouraging an old, one seater Ag-plane into the air with his visibility and performance abilities hampered by the woman sitting on his lap. Astrid pulled herself in as tight as she could, intending to reduce the impact she had on his piloting.

But despite all the obstacles, both within the cabin and on the ground, the plane responded, albeit sluggishly. The old hunk of metal had accelerated enough for them to believe that flight might actually be possible. The van had made it past the large barn and was now on the runway chasing them.

The two people squeezed into the cabin heard more shots but none of them seemed to hit the plane this time. How they didn't end up with a bullet in a vital component of the aircraft was something they couldn't comprehend. But they weren't about to argue about it.

Unbelievably, they felt the plane lift of the ground, and they were finally in the air! The plane was flying! And so were they!

"Yahoo!" yelled Astrid excitedly. "We made it!"

Hiccup said nothing, as he was too concerned about _keeping_ the plane in the air. The engine was not running smoothly, and it could be heard in the hesitations of the propeller. But he allowed himself one luxury…of looking back at the rapidly diminishing white van on the ground.

They had escaped…again.


	24. Chapter 24

Hiccup wondered how far they were going to travel before it all came unstuck. There was no question of ' _if_ '…only ' _when_ '. But he still didn't tell her that.

Not yet.

He deliberately flew the plane low, and kept a constant eye out for any possible 'landing' sites.

Astrid noticed.

"Why are we flying so low?" she questioned, turning her neck slightly to look over her shoulder. She was sitting on his lap, a most disconcerting position at the best of times, and she was wary of moving too much. She didn't think it was too comfortable for him.

She was right.

Hiccup knew she was there by necessity, and he was doing his best to ignore it, but having Astrid, beautiful Astrid, sitting on his lap was an act of intimacy he wasn't prepared for at all.

And then there was the physical pain of having a bony-butted female digging into his thighs.

So he focused on flying.

Until she turned to question him. The small movement triggered a painful reaction in his muscles and he winced.

Astrid thought his grimace was due to her query.

"Are we going to crash?" she asked, her blue eyes opening wide as she twisted further to eye him more closely.

"Astrid, could you please face forward," he asked through gritted teeth, the soft tissues of his lap suffering from the pressure.

"Oh! Sorry!" she quickly apologized, sitting forward again, bringing on a fresh wave of discomfit.

"So," she tried again, keeping her body pointing towards the front. "Are we going to crash?"

His silence answered that question for her.

"When?" she whispered, fear constricting her throat as she paid more heed to the fluctuations of the engine.

Now that she was really listening, she heard the unsteady 'pop' and 'whirr' every time it missed. She swore her heart missed a beat every time the plane did.

She didn't dare turn her head around again, but she could feel the rigid muscles in his arms as he gripped the control wheel in concentration.

"Do you at least know where we are?" she asked unsteadily, fighting back the waves of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.

"I've been following the road back."

"So the van will be able to follow us?"

"Yeah. But I don't want to take it any higher…just in case."

Astrid decided not to question what the 'in case' part involved. She was pretty certain she wasn't going to like it.

"Are we at least going faster than the van?"

"Probably not," was the grim reality. "We should have some sort of head start, though."

"Well, that's reassuring," she replied sarcastically.

"You're alive, aren't you?"

"For now…."

-oOo-

Stoick was exhausted. He and Gobber had driven all the previous night, searching the highway from Berk to the next town at Ravens Point, about three hours away, and back again several times. They hadn't laid eyes on either the white van or Hiccup's Harley. They had found out there was an unusual number of white vans on the island. But none of them seemed to be the right one.

Gobber had finally demanded they pull over for a rest in the early hours of the morning, and Stoick had reluctantly agreed. They had lowered the front seats of his car, and slept a fitful couple of hour's right there on the side of the road.

The two friends had then travelled back to Berk that morning, to meet up with the Detective who was in charge of Hiccup's case. The Detective had advised them that the police had held a press conference the night before, describing how Hiccup and Astrid had gone missing after being targeted, and also that the two wanted men were considered armed and dangerous. People were being urged to report any sightings of the young couple on their bike, or the two thugs in the white van. Stoick's home security cameras had caught the whole event on digital, and Stoick had winced as he watched Eret and Toothless being the subjects of a vicious beating.

He had also watched as his frightened son and Astrid fled the house on the Harley. His throat had closed over as he thought about what was going through their minds as they ran. He refused to believe that the grainy image might be the last he ever saw of either of them.

Why the two thugs let themselves be caught on film was a mystery, but now the police had mug shots of the two men. Both had criminal histories as long as their arms, but that didn't help the police get any closer to finding any of them.

The news report had been picked up and shown over and over again, the TV channels tagging Hiccup as the "Handsome Hero" once more. The police had collected several confirmed sightings of the Harley with the two youths, helping them to at least pinpoint in what direction they had headed.

Which was out of Berk.

But there had been nothing since then.

Stoick was frustrated. "Where could they have gone? If they were on the side of the road, we would have found them by now!"

Gobber agreed. "Aye...perhaps they found somewhere to hide?" he suggested.

Stoick nodded. "But where? They camp out there all the time. Where would Hiccup think to go?" he wondered.

Gobber caught Stoick's eye, "You don't suppose they went to….."

Stoick realised what his friend was suggesting. "Aye, they could've gone to ground at that wretched hide of his."

Gobber shrugged his shoulders, "It's a start, at least."

Stoick nodded, dogged determination taking over his tired features. He rubbed one massive hand over his face and sighed heavily.

"It's better than nothing. Come on, let's go," he boomed, as he strode out of the police station, Gobber closely behind.

-oOo-

Hiccup was worried.

Very worried.

He was flying by the seat of his pants, with half of the instruments on the panel not working at all, and the other half providing very dodgy readings. He doubted they had worked even when the plane had been flown in a previous life. The radio did not even exist except for a few loose wires hanging out from under the panel.

The coughs and splutters of the plane's engine were becoming more frequent, the irregular pauses between engine beats becoming more noticeable.

Astrid was sitting in the boy's lap, deathly still. She knew what was coming, and she didn't want to cause any kind of distraction to the young pilot to bring it all on sooner.

But it happened anyway.

Hiccup cursed loudly as the engine gave one final splutter, then refused to start again. The sudden silence pounded in their ears, their hearts leaping into their throats, making speech difficult.

"This is it," he told her with gritted teeth. "Hold on to whatever you can," he instructed.

There wasn't really anything for her to grip. Neither were wearing seat belts, so she found some finger holds in the framework of the plane, hoping that would be enough.

Hiccup spied a farmer's field stretching out behind a small section of scrub next to the highway. The green field was flat and large enough for the plane to land…or rather…crash.

They had been flying so low to the ground anyway, it was going to be a very short descent.

Hiccup guided the plane towards the field, hoping to keep the nose up for as long as possible before it embedded into the uneven and soft ground, potentially causing them to flip.

Astrid was rigid in between his arms, her face screwed up tight and turned into her shoulder. She was scared beyond belief, her thoughts on the boy behind her.

The wind howled past them, sounding like a small tornado, the ground rushing towards them in an unearthly and terrifying version of a bad movie.

Except this was real.

Astrid knew this was to be her last moments in life. She had never wondered about how she would die. But she had never dreamed it would be like this. She briefly wondered how long it would be before their friends and family found them. She hoped they were still recognizable.

"I love you Hiccup."

"I love you too, Astrid," came the tight response.

Hiccup kept fighting till the very end. He kept the control wheel pulled towards him, keeping the nose of the plane up as much as he dared, till suddenly they hit the ground with a loud bang and an almighty jolt that rattled their bones. The terrible screeching sound of metal folding screamed through their brains as both of them were thrown around the tiny cabin like rag dolls. The control wheel wrenched from his grasp, and they both yelled with deadly fear.

The plane bounced on its wheels momentarily before crashing back into the field with another huge thud that shook Hiccup's teeth from his jaw, causing him to groan breathlessly. The sound of the metal fuselage ripping and tearing filled their ears as the ancient aircraft collided with the hard earth again, the landing gear collapsing on impact.

Greenery flashed under the propeller and down the side as the plane ploughed through the muddy earth, the sound of the vegetation hitting the fuselage like thousands of whips being cracked at the same time.

Time stood still for the lovers in the cockpit as they bounced helplessly off the ancient metal framework and each other. Both of their legs sustained damage from the plane's controls. Hiccup held onto Astrid and braced as much as he could, the adrenaline coursing through their veins not allowing them to feel any pain just yet.

She screamed as she hit her head on the roof, along with her shoulder but she continued to scrabble to hang onto anything of the plane's structure she could grab, her fingernails ripping with the roughness of it all.

The plane bounced once more, before the out of control plane wrenched to the left, one wing digging into the ground and snapping off, the sudden shift causing the plane to lurch forward into the mud.

Grunting with the sheer pain and horror of it all, Hiccup and Astrid were hurled up against the front windscreen of the cockpit, the glass splintering from the impact. Hiccup instinctively grabbed the metal framework with one hand, and with superhuman strength born of desperation he held onto Astrid's waist with the other, stopping her being thrown out the window.

He may have saved her life.

The plane suddenly became oppressively silent. The noise of the wind rushing past had stopped, the vegetation had stopped whipping and scraping the plane, and only the creaks and groans of tortured metal as it settled could still be heard, the broken and battered nose of the plane buried in the ploughed earth.

Inside the cabin, the loudest noise was the ragged breaths of the two souls trapped within, not really convinced they were still alive.

The entire plane leaned very heavily into one corner, almost on its side except for the stub of a wing left to hold it up.

The young couple had their legs braced against the mangled framework, Hiccup still holding on strong to his girlfriend.

His ragged breaths continued as he tried to wrap his mind around a multitude of confusing thoughts that attacked him all at once.

"Are you okay, Astrid?" his voice shook as he tried to work out the next step.

"I…I think so," she answered faintly, gulping deeply to draw in much needed air. "What about you?"

Hiccup wiggled his toes, "I think everything's still in one piece," he gasped.

"How will we get out?" came the next question.

Hiccup glanced at the door. The plane had rolled onto that side, and the broken wing was holding the door shut in a twisted heap of metal. There was no escape that way.

He turned forward and studied the windscreen. It had partially popped out and was cracked in many places.

"Push out the window," he instructed firmly.

He pulled back on her waist, freeing her legs so she could 'walk' up the tilted walls and kick out the glass with her shod feet. It exploded all over the front of the plane like a shower of deadly icicles, leaving a space in the window frame large enough to crawl out.

Astrid went first, slowly edging her way through the window, over the engine bay, before landing awkwardly on the earth below. She tried to stand, but found her jellified legs refused to hold her up, and she collapsed on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked worriedly.

"I will be when you get out safely," she replied shakily, resting her spinning head in her hands.

Hiccup struggled with his false foot, but eventually he made it out as well, plopping himself down on the ground beside her. Only now that they were both out and obviously still alive, could he take the chance to explore their injuries further.

He assessed Astrid sitting beside him. Her top and shorts were no match for this kind of treatment at the best of times, but thankfully their jackets had protected them from worse injuries. He noted the large cut above her eye where she had hit the windscreen, the blood trickling freely down the side of her face, joining the blood from her torn fingernails now resting in her hairline. Her hair was in a complete mess, and the bruising and cuts on her bare legs were painfully obvious. Somehow, she still had her tennis shoes on. Her clothes, even her jacket, had a multitude of rips and tears.

Hiccup had not fared much better, he realised ruefully as he glanced down at his own clothes. His jacket and shorts were also ripped and torn. Thankfully, his prosthetic was still in one piece, although he wasn't sure how. Both legs were covered in scratches and bruises too, dirt and grease from repairing the engine covering almost every other part of him, colouring even his once-auburn hair.

Astrid didn't seem to notice the bleeding cut on her face, so Hiccup set to work, tearing a strip of material from the bottom of his already torn shirt. He bunched it up and gently pressed it to the cut, attempting to stem the flow.

"You've got a large cut," he told her softly, as she lifted her head in surprise.

"Oh!"

She sat quietly, shaking heavily from shock. He wrapped one arm around her, as he held her head with the other. He checked the gash a few times, before being satisfied the bleeding had stopped. He dropped the bloody rag on the ground beside them.

"Do you think anyone noticed?" Astrid asked him faintly, still dazed.

"Dunno," he replied flatly after a few moments, wrapping both arms around her. They both searched out the surrounding countryside, taking stock of where they had landed. It was a large field, with no buildings within sight. A small scrub area separated them from the highway. For all that anyone else knew, a crop duster was working the fields and then disappeared, presumably landed safely.

" _Now_ what do we do?" he asked, more to himself than the blonde beside him.

-oOo-

Stoick and Gobber had reached the turnoff that lead down the road to the forest trail where Hiccup liked to camp and bird watch at times. Stoick parked his car at the end of the dirt road, close to where the trail began, and got out. He sighed in frustration when he realised that last night's storm had passed through here too and the vegetation had been substantially destroyed.

"How will we know if he's been here or not?" he growled.

Gobber had already exited the car and was now slowly studying the ground around them.

"What do you do if you want to disappear, and you're riding a big, black, very loud beast?" prompted the big man to his friend with a grin.

"You hide the bike of course," answered Stoick gruffly.

"There's your answer then," smiled Gobber knowingly, his gold tooth shining brightly. "Look for somewhere to hide your bike!"

"Aye, that's what he would do," responded Stoick with more enthusiasm than before.

Both men went straight to the task of scouting for evidence amongst the storm ravaged countryside, to indicate where Hiccup might have hidden a bike.

Gobber noticed a collection of shrubs to the side of the road. Something seemed a little odd about the way the branches had been broken. He stepped closer, peering at the branches.

Stoick noticed his friend's focus and edged closer.

Gobber walked around the back of the bushes. "Well, will ya look at that!" came his astonished voice.

"What?" bellowed Stoick, drawing closer in a flash.

He pulled up short as he suddenly noticed what his best friend was staring at.

A fallen bush that had been _cut_ not broken.

Leading to tracks in the muddy ground that were definitely not….

"No animal made those," observed Gobber.

"Not unless they're wearing a set of Dunlop rubbers," breathed Stoick excitedly. "They were _here_ Gobber!"

"And they left, too," reminded his friend soberly.

"The mud is still fresh, the storm was last night! They must have left this morning! They might even be on their way home now!" boomed Stoick feverishly.

He started to stride back to the car, but stopped to look back, "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go find them!"

-oOo-

Hiccup and Astrid were sitting beside the wrecked remains of the crop dusting plane.

It was already mid-afternoon and both of them realised they were still a long way from home…and from safety. Hiccup had managed to pull himself half way back into the cockpit to retrieve their bag with the water and food. They now sat sharing a miserable meal of dried beef jerky and their last bottle of water.

Hiccup drained the last drop and threw the empty bottle back towards the broken plane.

"Well, that was the last of it. Hopefully we'll find something more soon."

Astrid nodded, her eyes closed as fatigue washed over her. "Do you think they saw us come down?" she asked wearily.

Hiccup shrugged, the action causing him to grimace as his bruised shoulders complained about the treatment.

"I don't know, Astrid. We can't stay here too long and hope the right people find us. We'll have to keep moving," he answered reluctantly.

She nodded slowly, pain becoming her new best friend. "Just five more minutes, Hiccup. Please?" she pleaded faintly, needing to rest.

Hiccup was worried as he turned towards his girlfriend. "Are you okay?" he asked, remembering she had already been through a lot even before they had arrived in this situation.

"Yeah…just five minutes, okay?" she asked before carefully laying herself down on her back amongst the flattened vegetation, not even caring that she was lying in the mud.

"O…okay," he conceded hesitantly, staring at her closely. He hated seeing her like this. It was bad enough at home, in a clean house, with a soft bed. But out here?...guilt plagued him like a shadow. She wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him, he berated himself. He should have found another way to attract the attention of the police. Driving like a maniac _outside_ of town was just asking for trouble! He should have stayed close, and maybe they would be safe at home right now, laughing it all off.

But the other logical side of him reminded himself, that they could also be dead right now. Despite everything that had happened, they were still alive and still together. He knew that the police would also be looking for them, and his father would not give up until he found them both.

Hiccup closed his eyes and let his head drift backwards. Thinking of his father hurt. He knew the savage determination the mountain of a man had when it came to his only child, his son. Hiccup shook himself mentally. Now was not the time to give in, he needed to keep both of them moving until they were safely home.

But for now, he needed to rest.

-oOo-

Stoick and Gobber pulled over to the side of the road, and waited until the teens in the other vehicle caught up with them. Snotlout was driving so it wouldn't take long. His reckless attitude applied to his driving skills as well as other aspects of his life.

The two older men took the opportunity to stretch their legs. They had been in that car for a long time and were starting to feel a little stiff.

The van pulled up and the teens piled out, approaching the two men with great reluctance considering what had happened the last time they had all met.

Stoick rubbed his face with his hands. He was tired, he didn't have time for this.

"I'm not going to bite!" he barked at them in frustration.

They jumped and paused.

Groaning in disbelief, he tried again, supposedly more gentle, "Have you lot found anything yet?" he asked.

Fishlegs spoke up first, "N…n…no, sir," he answered nervously.

Ruff was not so intimidated.

"What about you, sir? Have you found anything?"

"Aye, we have," answered Gobber for his friend. "We found fresh tyre marks up at the first trail that Hiccup likes to go to."

"So?" Snotlout shrugged without comprehension.

"Fresh _bike_ tyres," Gobber tried again, waiting for the lights to come on. Stoick just rolled his eyes and took in a deep breath to control himself.

Fishlegs got it. His face lit up with an excited grin, while the rest stared back at Gobber blankly.

"Huh?" Tuff questioned for them all.

Gobber slapped his own face, "You lot really are as thick as two planks, aren't yeh," he grumbled.

Fishlegs interrupted excitedly. "They found Hiccup's tyre marks, guys! And if they are fresh that means they were still on the bike this morning at least, seeing as it was raining last night, and any tracks from yesterday would have been washed away, so they should be on the road again, even if we haven't seen them yet, so the chances of finding them soon are pretty high…." he rambled on as the others watched him stunned.

"Fishlegs!" shouted Snotlout. "Okay! We got it! Hiccup and Astrid are still alive! Sheesh!"

Stoick narrowed his eyes at the brash young man. For the umpteenth time Stoick questioned how this lad ever became friends with his son.

He tried to ignore him.

"It looks like they should have been travelling home, but we've been up and down this road all day and not found them yet. Either they've had to pull over for some reason, or they've been forced to change direction."

He didn't want to add in a third reason for not finding them yet. That was too dangerous to think about.

Tuff waded right in, "Or they could have been caught by the muggers by now," he voiced the last option nonchalantly.

Everyone glared at him.

"What?"

Stoick was heating up quickly and opened his mouth to say something when Gobber stopped him by putting a hand on his friend's arm.

"You lot keep heading that way," he pointed back up the road from where he and Stoick had just come from. "And we'll keep going this way," he pointed in the opposite direction. "We've gotta catch up with them sooner or later. Phone us if you see anything."

He turned to go back to the car, Stoick following, but paused and turned back to the youths.

"And don't do anything stupid."

Snotlout had the hide to look affronted. But they climbed back into their van and drove off in their appointed direction.

Stoick and Gobber sat down in their seats heavily. Well, there was no other way when you were the size of a large yak. Stoick leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, the added strain of the past two days catching up with him.

Gobber patted his friends arm, "We'll find them Stoick. Hiccup's tougher than he looks. And with Astrid by his side, the two of them will survive anything," he comforted him.

Stoick could only nod.

And hope.


	25. Chapter 25

Hiccup woke up with a fright. For a few moments he was disorientated as he glanced around him. He was lying on a muddy field, with a broken and twisted plane scattered in the vegetation beside him. Memories of the crash came flooding back to him, and he sat up frantically searching for Astrid.

He found her lying deathly quiet beside him, the pallor of her skin noticeable even amongst all the mud, bruises and dried blood. His heart lurched painfully at the sight of her, wondering if they were ever going to make it home. Or if they were going to die out here, in a muddy field. He stretched out a fearful hand to brush aside some mud encrusted hair from her face.

She suddenly moaned and rolled her face towards him, making him jump and hastily pull back his hand. Her eyes opened and stared right into his. He could see she was unfocussed, but soon she too remembered what had happened, and sat up slowly, resting on her elbows.

"Hey," he said softly, reaching out to brush the loose hair off her face again.

She sighed and closed her eyes at his touch.

"Hey, to you," she replied quietly. "I was having a bad dream, but I think waking up was worse," she muttered, before carefully sitting up completely with Hiccup's help.

He smiled wryly at her. "That's a first."

She glared up at him, "Yeah, not something I want to make a habit of," she responded flatly.

Guilt twisted his guts painfully. Determination fired him up, he would do everything in his power to get her home.

"We'll make it home, then this will be the bad dream," he indicated the carnage surrounding them.

She nodded so sadly, that he shuffled over to pull her into his arms. "We _will_ make it out," he insisted, holding her tight for a few more moments before releasing her and standing up.

Holding out his hand to help her up, he grinned at her in the way she knew and loved so well. "Well m'lady, ready to go home?"

She stretched out her hand to take his, and gave a ghost of a smile. "As ready as I will ever be."

-oOo-

Stoick sighed again and glanced over at his friend beside him, each becoming more haggard and worried as the day drew longer and they still had not found any trace of either Hiccup or Astrid.

They had turned the radio off earlier as it had become depressing listening to the broadcasts repeat over and over again that the young couple had disappeared, last seen on the back of the Harley heading out of Berk. The Police appealed again and again for the public's help in locating them.

The Detective had passed on to Stoick any information that had come his way, but the calls had long since dried up. The young couple had been seen that morning, but not since then.

Stoick banged his hand on the steering wheel in frustration. "Hiccup, where are you?" he muttered to himself.

"We'll find them," comforted Gobber.

"I just hope it won't be too late," sighed Stoick.

"Well, those crooks haven't been found yet either. Seems they're probably still trying to find him as well," commented Gobber.

"Aye. I hope you're right," nodded the bigger man.

They were driving back to Berk along the highway. Stoick was thinking deeply of where the two youngsters could possibly be. Did they take a detour? Did they run out of fuel? He wasn't even sure how well Hiccup and Astrid knew the area.

As they drove along the highway, he saw something, a narrow turnoff that hadn't been noticeable before. It was a smaller country road, leading off to farmlands. On a hunch, Stoick made the turn, taking Gobber by surprise.

"Why would you come down here? It's only a back road," he asked.

"Exactly," replied Stoick grimly. "We've searched everywhere else, it won't hurt to explore down here too. Besides, the kids are still searching the highway."

Gobber just shrugged.

They drove down the road in silence, passing an old weather-beaten house that obviously hadn't been lived in for a long time. Much further down, they found a few farms that were in full swing harvesting their produce in the cool of the afternoon. Gobber and Stoick glanced at each other.

"Wanna stop and ask if anyone has seen them?" the man with the hook asked.

Stoick nodded grimly, "Just what I was thinking," he replied, turning the car into the closest driveway.

They pulled up at the front of an old fashioned two storey home, and stepped out of the car only to be greeted by three large furry dogs. Stoick and Gobber were not the type of fellas to be worried about canines, seeing as they were both close to seven foot tall, Gobber the shorter of the two. So they ignored the circling mutts while they waited for the farmer to approach them, a thin man dressed in the typical country outfit of jeans and plaid shirt with the obligatory cowboy hat.

"Evening!" welcomed the farmer. "What can I do for yer folks?" he asked.

Stoick approached the man, pulling a photo of Hiccup and Astrid sitting on the Harley out of his pocket and showed it to the man. "We're looking for my son and his girlfriend. They were on this bike the last time we saw them. They are in grave danger, and we need to get them home. Have you seen them around here today?" he asked, not allowing himself to be hopeful. They could be completely on the wrong track on this road.

The farmer took the photo and studied it carefully. "Good looking kids," he said kindly, but then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen them." He handed the photo back.

Stoick's shoulders drooped as he put the picture back into his pocket. "Thanks for your time, sir. It was a long shot coming out this way. I don't even know if Hiccup has ever been out here."

"Hiccup?" the farmer asked, his interest suddenly piqued. "Are you talking about the 'Handsome Hero' by chance? The boy being chased by someone in a white van?"

Stoick's eyes narrowed. He'd forgotten about all the media coverage that had flooded the television and radio.

"Yes! That's my son!" he answered gravely.

"There's not much traffic up here that we don't know about. We haven't seen the bike, but we have seen a white van. Wasn't hard to miss, the driver was driving like the clappers. Scared the life out of my poddy calves, it did."

The two big men leaned forward eagerly, "A white van you say? Where did it go, can you remember?" Stoick asked fervently.

The man leaned back, scratching his chin. "I only saw it the once, but my wife complained about it later. And old Bill up the road rang me about it too. Seems they used his front yard to turn around in. Made a right mess of his turf they did."

He paused for a moment, and the two friends were afraid they were going to get nothing else, when the farmer suddenly leaned forward, "Let me get hold of my wife. She can tell you more."

With that he turned his head toward the house and hollered loudly, "MARY!" making the two men jump.

A female voice echoed back from the shadows, "WHAT!"

The farmer yelled again, "FOLKS WANNA KNOW ABOUT THAT VAN! COME HERE WILL YA?"

Mary said something in reply, not loud enough for anyone to distinguish her words, but she obviously wasn't happy about being interrupted from her work.

A short, well-rounded lady with flour spread over her cheeks and clothes came out of the house, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist.

"Mary," the farmer began, "These folks want to know about that white van that come by earlier today."

Mary's face twisted into a scowl. "Idiots driving like maniacs!" she didn't mince her words. "What do they want to drive like that up a nice quiet country road like this for, huh? They ripped up poor old Bill's front yard. The old man's gonna hurt himself trying to repair that!..."

Mary was obviously building up a head of steam on the subject, but her husband gently interrupted, "Mary love, these men are looking for the 'Handsome Hero' and his girlfriend. That van might be the one that's chasing the young couple."

Stoick nodded towards the woman. "Hiccup's my son. Anything you could tell us would be greatly appreciated, ma'am."

Mary gasped and her expression quickly turned to one of horror, her hands reaching up to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know! They look like such a lovely young couple on the tv, I even said so to my Henry here. We didn't think that van would be the one the police were looking for. Thought it was some city kids skylarking."

Stoick nodded grimly, "Thank you, ma'am. Yes, Hiccup and Astrid are very special. They've already endured more than one man could hope to stand in a lifetime." He staggered slightly under the weight of his grief, and Gobber put out a hook to support him, regarding him with concern.

"If you could tell us what you know ma'am, we'll be on our way. I need to get them home as soon as possible," he finished softly.

"Of course, sir, of course," Mary was flustered. "Well, the van raced up and down here a few times in the middle of the day, and then they didn't come back."

"Which way did they travel last?" asked Gobber.

Mary pointed in the direction the men had travelled from. "They left the way they came in."

"Do you think they stopped further up the road first before they left?" asked Stoick, gazing at the woman intently. The muggers had obviously been searching for the young couple up this road. There must have been a reason for why they hadn't come back. Either they found a different direction to chase them, or…..

Stoick closed his eyes briefly. He didn't want to think about the 'or'.

Opening his eyes again, he refocused on the woman before him. He hoped her recollection was clear. It was vital for Hiccup and Astrid's wellbeing.

She thought carefully for a moment, "You know, that van was driving past fairly regularly. So if they stopped further up the road, it must've been brief. Besides, everyone up and down this road has been complaining about that van. If they had stopped, someone would have noticed."

Her husband chuckled beside her, drawing the attention of their two worried visitors.

"What's so funny, Henry? Feather tickling your funny bone?" asked Mary.

"No," the man drawled. "I was just thinking a good place to hide would have been the old Dickson farm down the road," he nodded towards the direction they had come from. "Place has been deserted for years after old man Dickson finally carked it."

Stoick and Gobber both perked up at this news. A place to hide was definitely what Hiccup and Astrid would have been looking for.

"That old place?" cried Mary incredulously. "Why would you go there? That place is haunted!" she flapped her hands at her husband.

"Now Mary, you know that's not true!" murmured the farmer. He turned his attention to the big men.

"Mary swears the place is haunted. She reckons she saw old man Dickson flying his crop duster down over the fields earlier," he chuckled at his wife's fears. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Henry Smith! I _saw_ that plane flying! You can even ask Bobby-Jo! She was right with me!" she replied indignantly.

Henry just chuckled at her again, "I _did_! She reckons she saw nothing but dust!"

Mary crossed her arms across her chest and huffed, turning away from her husband.

"Aww, Mary! Don't be like that honey!" he cajoled.

Stoick and Gobber turned to each other in surprise. A plane? Sounded like Hiccup. But if that were true, where was the bike? What had happened to it? And why hadn't they noticed a plane?

It was time to go.

Stoick rapidly pulled his wallet out of his pocket, and extracted his business card before handing it to the miffed woman.

"Thank you ma'am. You've been more than helpful! If you think of anything further, please give me a call," he thanked her hastily.

"And for the record, I think you _did_ see that plane flying. But it wasn't flown by ghosts…it was flown by my son."

Both Mary and Henry stopped to stare at Stoick with their mouths hanging open in shock, while the men beat a hasty retreat to their car.

They had a derelict farm to investigate.

The two men had already driven off before Henry turned to his stunned wife, "What kind of a boy gets in a plane like that…and _flies_ it?..."

-oOo-

Astrid and Hiccup had staggered through the open field, heading towards the small scrub that hid them from the highway. The rain soaked earth made it difficult for them to travel with any ease, and Astrid had to stop every few feet, to unstick Hiccup and his false foot from the clingy mud. It had taken an unbelievably long time to cross through the chest high vegetation, and now they were thoroughly exhausted, despite the impromptu rest they had taken earlier.

"Urgh! I look like the swamp monster!" Astrid complained. Her mud spots had mud spots. She was completely filthy now. The stench of the mud was revolting! Astrid sniffed her clothes and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I can't even stand _myself!_ Why would _anyone_ want to pick us up?" she demanded, stating the obvious flaw in Hiccup's plan of hitching a ride home.

"Maybe someone with a ute will toss us in the back," he joked gently. He was sweating from the exertion of their trek and his leg was hurting quite a bit, but he knew they had to keep moving. Otherwise they were looking at spending the night on the side of the road, something he would like to avoid if at all possible.

The young couple were standing at the edge of the muddy field, but they still had one more obstacle to get through before reaching the road…a large patch of thick scrub.

"You never know, we might lose some of this mud on the way through," he jibed gently.

"What? And remove the natural swampland fragrance that I worked so hard to achieve," she said sarcastically.

"Somehow I think it will be a while yet before _that_ smell gets removed," he responded morosely.

She sighed, "I think it will be a long walk home. I'm sure even our parents would think twice before letting us in their cars."

Hiccup thought of the expensive leather seats in his father's upmarket car and sighed. "You're probably right. Maybe we'll get some rain or a nice puddle to wash off in first."

Astrid wrinkled her nose in embarrassment. "It's just hit home how that little 'bathe' I had to have this morning was a complete and utter waste of time."

Hiccup had to laugh as he recalled how his girlfriend had insisted on having a wash in the very shallow stream, so she could be 'presentable' when they arrived home.

"Was that this morning?" he shook his head disbelievingly at all they had gone through since then. "Weren't we supposed to just go home and get yelled at by my father, for disappearing yesterday?"

Yesterday.

When Toothless and Eret had given everything for them.

He lowered his head as the pain of what they had left behind hit him directly in his chest. He gasped at the sheer ferocity of it.

Astrid understood what he was thinking. She pulled his hand into hers and drew closer to him. She raised her other hand to his chin and gently directed his attention back to her. "It will be okay, Hiccup. I know it will," she tried to reassure him. "We can't assume the worst as happened. We just need to get home first, okay?"

He nodded, "Home…."

She stood on her toes and reached up to kiss him gently on the lips, before releasing him. He gazed into her soft blue eyes with his own deeply worried green eyes. He loved her so much, but their short time together had been nothing but trouble. In the deep recesses of his mind he questioned whether all this might make her decide that being with him was too much pain.

He pulled her slowly into his arms and nestled her into his chest, and rested his cheek on the top of her head. She sighed softly and wrapped her arms around his waist. For just a few moments, they could believe that all was right with their world.

Hiccup murmured into her hair, "Which part are we in again? The nightmare that we will wake up from? Or the nightmare we're still living?"

She sighed dispiritedly, pulling back from his arms reluctantly, "The pain in my body tells me we are unfortunately awake. Besides….I don't think I could ever get this filthy in my dreams…even in my nightmares," she said ruefully, glancing down at her mud covered physique.

Hiccup gave a brusque laugh, "Why m'lady! Don't you know mud is the best beauty treatment that money can buy?"

She glanced back at him in an unamused fashion, "Then we better look nothing less than fabulous once we wash this lot off."

He smirked ruefully at her, "Somehow, I doubt that will be the result."

She groaned at the idea of what would be exposed once the mud _did_ come off.

"Come on," Hiccup encouraged, reaching for her hand. "Let's tackle this scrub. Then we'll have one less hurdle between us and that bath."

He tugged on her hand and led her into the bush.


	26. Chapter 26

Stoick and Gobber found the derelict farmhouse they had driven past before. Stoick carefully picked his way down the overgrown driveway. He was driving an expensive car, not a four wheel drive.

He pulled up beside some tall plants where they could see a space leading to the old house. Gobber was on the side of the car closest to the building, and he got out of the sedan carefully, his old bones complaining about sitting still for such a long time.

He ambled towards the gap in the trees, not bothering to wait for Stoick who was taking his time easing out from behind the wheel. It was a big car, but still too small for a man with such a huge stature as him.

Gobber was almost level with the plants when he saw something that excited him beyond belief. He gasped in shock and had Stoick's instant attention.

"What is it Gobber?"

"You'd better see this for yourself," the shorter man encouraged.

Stoick strode around the car and soon saw what his friend was so excited about.

A bike.

Hiccup's bike.

They had been here!

Stoick examined it carefully, noting the scratches on the paintwork, the dust and mud covering the engine and the tyres. He saw the two helmets resting on the saddlebags, and he placed a shaky hand over the top of the one he knew to be his son's.

His son had worn this helmet only this morning. Hiccup had driven this bike only this morning. Stoick felt as if he had gotten closer to the young couple, only to have them ripped away from him again. He was still no closer to finding them. So far, all they had done was locate where the youngsters had been, retracing the terrible journey that the two young lovers had found themselves on.

Were they afraid? Were they losing hope? Were they injured, or in pain? Stoick dreaded finding the answers to those questions.

He allowed his hand to drift across the seat of the bike, over the fuel tank and towards the handlebars. He flipped the 'kill' switch and turned the key before hitting the 'start' button. The engine responded with a cough and a splutter.

"No fuel," observed Gobber.

Stoick nodded and lifted his eyes to search out for what was behind the house. The farmer and his wife had mentioned a plane. Hiccup and Astrid must have found it over there. He noticed the large barn which would be the most likely source, and headed towards it, not minding the weeds and plants brushing past him.

Gobber followed, his peg leg making an odd 'thunk' at each step.

The two men reached the side of the large barn, and saw the destroyed door on the ground.

"Hiccup's work I'm guessing," said Gobber cheerfully. They passed through and noticed the light flooding in through the large sliding doors. Glancing around they could see evidence that a plane had been here, and that someone had worked on it recently.

Following the tyre marks, the two men walked in the direction of the runway, where the line of damaged plants gave evidence of the plane's escape.

Gobber cast an experienced eye down the track, noting all the signs that indicated their take off would have been a difficult one. This worried him, but he decided to keep that information to himself for now. He glanced at his friend anxiously.

Stoick found his attention diverted by another set of tyre marks coming from the side. His curiosity aroused, he headed in that direction, wondering what he was likely to find. Something sparkled on the ground in front of him. He drew closer, than squatted to pick up the object.

He almost dropped it again.

" _NO_!" he shouted, his anger and fear combining to force him back up on his feet. He strode quickly forward, tracing the new tyre tracks, searching for more objects.

He found them.

Gobber had trotted towards his friend in his lop-sided fashion at the frantic sound of his voice. He reached Stoick slightly breathless.

"What is it?" he asked in concern.

Stoick was shaking in rage, but he said nothing as he reached out instead to drop something into Gobber's outstretched hand.

Gobber inspected the brass coloured cylindrical object in his hand, and paled.

It was an empty bullet casing.

The implications were enormous.

Hiccup and Astrid had evidently managed to get the crop dusting plane off the ground, but not before they had been found by that madwoman and her stogies.

Gunshots had been fired.

Bullets had been aimed towards the young couple, and who knew what damage had been done.

Stoick did not dare to think about it. He could only draw hope from the fact the plane was not here. He turned on his heel and headed back to the car, Gobber once again lagging behind.

Stoick pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled in the Detective's number. He knew it by heart now. He was soon filling the police officer in on their latest find. The officer promised to send men out to investigate the site and also to speak to the farmers that Stoick and Gobber had spoken to earlier.

The police may be experienced in doing their job, but when it came to _this_ determined father, they were always going to fall behind.

Stoick had hung up the phone by the time the two reached the car. Stoick sat in the driver's seat and paused, while Gobber got in on the other side.

He turned to his bald friend and stated what facts they knew.

"We know Hiccup and Astrid were in that plane, and shots were fired at them."

"Aye," came the reluctant agreement.

"We know they got away, but we also know they haven't made it home yet."

"Aye," responded Gobber again. "It seems they've probably had to land again. A plane that old is never going to get very far without major engine work."

Stoick closed his eyes and his hands clenched tight around the steering wheel, as he was forced to confront the likely situation that the two young people he loved so much, would now be in.

"Land…or crash. But they must still be on their way home. It can't be that hard to find a downed plane, can it?" he questioned, knowing the answer already.

Gobber regarded his friend seriously. "From the ground we'd never find it. But from the air…."

Stoick already had his phone out, dialling in the number for the airport. He knew exactly how to find eyes in the sky….

-oOo-

Hiccup and Astrid had managed to push through the scrub. It hadn't been that deep, but with their rapidly diminishing energy reserves, every step was becoming agonizingly more difficult. Hiccup's limp had also become more and more pronounced as time passed.

The two were now waiting to catch their breath under the cover of the last line of trees before they exposed themselves on the road.

"Phew! I didn't think that would be so hard," panted Hiccup, collapsing on the ground.

"Yeah, that was a bit rougher than expected," agreed Astrid, leaning back against a tree. "Now what?"

Hiccup scanned the road from their hidden spot. "It's getting late. We need to keep going for as long as we can before it gets dark…otherwise we'll have to find somewhere safe to hide overnight…and I'm not too sure I want to do that."

Astrid nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm not too fussed on that idea either. But we won't have enough time…or enough energy…to walk home before tonight…."

He shook his head, "I know…we can only hope that someone will be willing to pick us up….but we'll have to be on the other side of the road to increase our chances of finding someone who's already heading for Berk."

Her voice trembled in fatigue and fear, "But what about _them_? What if they show up?"

He stiffened, staring at her blankly. It was a few moments before he answered, "We'll just have to be _very_ careful…maybe if we keep close to the tree line, we can hide every time we see a van…just to be on the safe side.

Astrid narrowed her eyes, her lips pursed as she studied him.

"What?"

"We're going to miss a lot of cars if we do that."

His shoulders slumped forward in defeat, "I know. But we can't take the chance."

She stared at him for a bit longer, then sighed in resignation, "We're not making it home tonight….are we?"

He lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, "Probably not," he admitted. "But hey," he said softly, causing her to glance over towards him. The determination in his eyes caught her attention, "…we'll still be a lot closer to home than we are now. We _will_ get home, Astrid. I promise you that."

She nodded, closing her eyes. She desperately wanted to believe it, but the longer it took, the harder it was to think they would _ever_ get home, to see their families once more. Right now she was more exhausted than she ever thought possible, her head was thumping, her limbs ached and stung from all the bruising and cuts, she was thirsty and hungry, and she was worried about him. It felt very much like a nightmare….except she couldn't wake up from this one…it was real.

Hiccup pulled himself up off the ground, with a great deal of difficulty. He grimaced as he struggled to stand, pain shooting through his leg.

She watched him in concern, but made no move to help. She couldn't.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked at last, finally standing, stumbling a little in his exhaustion.

She pushed herself off the tree, swaying slightly in fatigue. "As ready as I'll ever be," she declared with a resigned sigh.

"Then let's do this."

They held hands as they cautiously made their way across the grassy verge to the road. They kept their eyes peeled as they crossed over, but there were no cars to be found at all.

Reaching the other side safely, they started the long journey home by foot, taking it in turns to look behind them for any vehicles.

It was late in the afternoon, and it seemed most of the traffic had already gone home. The two held their breath every time a vehicle passed by, waving wildly to attract the driver's attention, and expelling it in frustration when the car continued past without pausing to stop.

"Why isn't anybody stopping to help?" wondered Hiccup in frustration.

Astrid was incredulous as she turned to look at her mud-covered boyfriend. "Are you serious?" she questioned. "Look at us!"

Hiccup paused to study his girlfriend. What he saw made him stop and think. Her once neat blonde braid was now seriously dishevelled, hair sticking out wildly in every direction. Dried blood was caked on the side of her face with a wide gash on her forehead. Her jacket was ripped and torn and covered in mud, her shorts were ripped and filthy and her legs were covered in bruises, scratches and dried up blood.

He glanced down at himself and saw that he wasn't much better. In fact, he had so much dirt on him, his auburn hair appeared black. He doubted his own father would recognize him at the moment. No wonder all the cars had avoided them! They looked as if they had been roughing it in the bush for a month!

Hiccup sighed and continued trudging forward. It seemed that they were only going to get home the slow way.

Astrid slipped her hand in his and they continued on in silence.

Not long after, Astrid gasped and her grip on Hiccup's fingers tightened. He looked up to see what had gained her attention. That's when he saw it as well.

A white van was travelling towards them on the other side of the road.

Hiccup quickly dragged Astrid behind the closest bush and waited. There were so many white vans that they had taken to hiding from them all. It was too difficult to work out if the van was harmless until it was too late for them to attract its attention. So they would just hide.

Hiccup noticed something familiar about this white van though, and watched it carefully. Then when it was about to go past, he suddenly jumped out and started waving wildly. Astrid realised why a moment later. It was Snotlout's van! She jumped out too, but the van sailed right past them, without giving any sign that they had seen them.

Hiccup was elated and frustrated all at once. Elated because he knew that someone was out looking for them, and frustrated that Snotlout hadn't even noticed them. They were so close! He clenched his fists, threw his head back and gave a deep, guttural yell towards the sky, making Astrid jump.

She reached out to place her hand on his arm. "Well, that's Snotlout for you," Astrid's drawl reached into his thoughts.

He turned towards her, his deep green eyes flashing his anger, "If he was going to search for us, he could at least _pay attention_ to what he was supposed to be doing," he spat out venomously.

Astrid was taken aback by his anger, "Hey, it's okay. They'll be back," she told him soothingly. Inside, she was also seething at Snotlout, but it wasn't going to do them any good if both of them flipped out.

His chest heaved as he stared down the road where the van had disappeared, his fists still clenched by his side. Finally he turned back towards her. He shrugged tightly, "Maybe."

They resumed walking towards Berk, but had only gone a few feet, when he stopped. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

He faced her, taking hold of her hands. "I'm sorry," he told her dejectedly, his eyes on the ground.

Astrid was puzzled. "For what?"

"For everything. For flipping out back there, for getting you into all of this, for crashing….just...everything," he said wildly. He glanced up at her and she was surprised to see his eyes shiny with unshed tears.

"Hey!" she said softly, cupping his face with her hand. "We're in this together," she reminded him. "You promised me we'll get home, and I have no reason to doubt you. We'll make it, I know we will. But you can't go losing faith on me….not now. We _will_ get home…together."

He gazed at her for a long time, then sighed in gratitude, leaning forward to touch her forehead with his. "Thank you," he breathed, his eyes closed. "I…I lost it there for a moment."

She patted his cheek, "I noticed," she told him drily.

He chuckled nervously, before taking hold of her hand. They aimed towards Berk again.

They had only managed to walk a few more feet down the grassy verge, when the heard the familiar sound of a van again, this time coming from behind them.

"He did see us!" cried Hiccup elatedly, twisting to look behind them.

Astrid was excited too, but something kept nagging her in the back of her mind. They stood out on the road to wave down their friends, but as the van drew closer, Astrid realised what was wrong. Hiccup gasped beside her so she knew he had realised it too.

This van was not Snotlout's.

It was Heather's.

-oOo-

Stoick and Gobber had left the abandoned farm and driven down the road a short way before pulling over. Stoick was on the phone, receiving confirmation that a spotter plane had been sent in their direction and would soon let them know if any downed aircraft could be seen.

"Well, that's it then. The plane is on its way," stated Stoick as he snapped his phone shut.

Gobber nodded, "Aye. It won't be long before they can tell us what happened. There's not much land to search if Hiccup was flying straight home."

If….

Stoick was suddenly filled with restless energy. He needed to keep moving, he couldn't just sit here waiting for someone else to tell him if his son had died in a crash or not. He needed to keep searching for them.

He turned the key in the ignition and pressed the accelerator, starting the car with a ferocious roar from its V12 engine. He slammed the car into first gear and floored the accelerator, causing the car to lurch forward.

Gobber raised one eyebrow at his friend, but said nothing. He just clung to the handle over the door to steady himself.

The sleek black car handled the tight corner onto the highway smoothly, and charged across the bitumen. As they headed back to Berk, they noticed the white van with the other teens passing by them in the opposite direction.

Stoick didn't acknowledge their waves of recognition, he was too focused on the road ahead.

-oOo-

" _RUN!_ "

Hiccup and Astrid tried to run back into the trees, but it was too late. The van veered onto the grassy verge and screeched to a halt beside them, the two huge fighters immediately launching themselves out of the side door. They quickly overpowered the two young lovers, tackling them to the ground.

Despite their utter exhaustion, Astrid and Hiccup tried to fight them off, but they were unable to put up much resistance.

"LET US GO, YOU MORONS!" Astrid screamed at her captor, as she lay struggling on the ground, trying to push the heavy man off. He just gave a cruel laugh and stood up. He reached down and yanked roughly on her arm, forcing her painfully up against him and wrapping his brutishly thick arms around her, pinning her arms down. He picked her bodily off the ground and carried her towards the van.

Astrid wasn't ready to give up just yet, so she kicked out viciously, giving a small victorious grin when she heard him ' _oomph'_ after she connected with his shins.

Hiccup wasn't fairing much better. He found himself face down in the dirt, his arms held tightly behind him. The huge oaf then proceeded to grab both his arms and haul him unceremoniously off the ground to his feet. Hiccup stumbled as he was forced to walk towards the van, his arms pulled painfully behind him in a vice like grip.

He could see Astrid struggling. "LET HER GO!"

Hiccup tried to twist around but was forced to stop by the blinding pain as his shoulder threatened to dislocate from the rough treatment. He gasped and hung limply for a moment, as he heard Heather give a spiteful laugh from the driver's seat.

"It's too late for heroics now, Hiccup. _Both_ of you will suffer the same fate!"

Hiccup's blood ran cold at her words, and he stared at her frozen with fear as the colour drained from his dirtied face.

"Why?" he whispered to her. "Why are you doing this to us?" he asked again in a stronger voice.

" _Be quiet_!" she commanded loudly, as the second man pushed him mercilessly onto the floor of the van.

Astrid was already lying there, still fighting even as the first thug tied her hands and feet together with a length of coarse rope. She let loose with a string of profanities that would make a sailor blush. The man grunted with the effort of trying to contain a wild cat.

He completed his task as Hiccup landed heavily on the floor of the van beside Astrid. Hiccup immediately bounced back up again, his muscles tense as he prepared to fight for both of them. He swung his fist and connected with the massive jaw of the man who had thrown him, making him grunt in surprise. But Hiccup's small victory only lasted a second as the other man grabbed him from behind and held him fast as the first thug gave Hiccup a solid punch to the gut.

Hiccup dropped to the floor of the van, groaning in pain as he curled up into a foetal position. The two villains laughed maliciously, as they flipped Hiccup over onto his bruised stomach. One tied his hands behind him, while the other tied his foot and prosthetic together at the ankle.

"Hiccup!" cried out Astrid, as she tried to lean her trussed up body towards her battered boyfriend.

He rolled to his side, before coughing up drops of blood, the metallic taste filling his mouth.

Astrid was petrified as she watched him recoil in pain.

"No!" she whispered, her mind reeling, not able to comprehend that this was really happening to them. That after all they had gone through, it was still going to end like this.

The side door of the van slammed shut ominously, as the two brutes took their seats. Heather slammed the van into gear, spinning the wheels and launching back onto the highway.

She performed a tight u-turn, causing the tyres to squeal, cutting off another vehicle on the road and forcing them to slam on their brakes as she pulled into the lane in front of them.

Before the other driver could even beep his horn to register his complaint, the van had already gone, speeding off in front of him. The driver narrowed his eyes and managed to read the last three numbers on the number plate before it was too far away for him to work out the figures anymore.

-oOo-

Stoick and Gobber had travelled back towards Berk at a much faster pace than before. Stoick was still full of pent up energy, and he didn't intend slowing down anytime soon. Gobber only held on silently, scanning the surrounding countryside as they went.

He knew it was going to be practically impossible to locate the plane from the road, as the road was lined with thick scrub and bushes on both sides. Seeing past all that would take a minor miracle.

Stoick's attention was abruptly drawn towards the phone ringing in his pocket, and he hurriedly pulled over to the side of the road to answer it.

"Hello?" he answered gruffly.

The voice on the other end told him the news he had been dreading. A crashed plane had been located.

Stoick's jaw slackened, and his hold on the phone loosened as he absorbed the information. Gobber swiftly stuck out his hand to grab the phone. The movement gave Stoick the opportunity to refocus. He gave a slight shudder as he took the phone back from Gobber and lifted it to his ear again.

"Where is it?" he asked, his voice hoarse with grief and exhaustion.

The voice on the other end gave him the directions, which he repeated to Gobber, before hanging up the phone. He turned to his best friend, staring at him with blank eyes as they silently contemplated what this meant. Gobber returned his worried gaze and said nothing, his heart sinking faster than the Titanic. He had always believed that Hiccup and Astrid would come home, but the reality was starting to tell a very different story.

He wanted to cling to the hope of their survival, but it was becoming a very slippery thread that was rapidly pulling out of his grasp. He knew that if it was found to be true, his friend would never recover. He just hoped and prayed that it would not be true.

Stoick was on auto-pilot as he turned his attention back to driving. His hands were shaking as he changed gears to pull out on the road. He didn't even bother to check for other vehicles.

In their dazed state, neither man noticed a white van on the other side of the road, nor questioned the speed it was travelling at.


	27. Chapter 27

**Warning: This is when the M rating kicks in. Graphic descriptions of torture and its aftermath are included for the next few chapters. Proceed with caution... And maybe bring a few hankies.**

 **Sorry, since initially posting this chapter, I thought I had better go back and put in a slightly less gory version for those not keen on reading that. Look for the markers in bold to find it.**

* * *

Despite everything Hiccup and Astrid had endured so far, this was by far the worst. They had spent days escaping from the clutches of the madwoman Heather, who had been doggedly pursuing them to claim some sort of twisted sense of justice against them for their part in the recapture of her escaped criminal brother Dagur.

They had managed to elude her by the skin of their teeth several times before, but now it seemed as if all hope was lost.

She had finally caught them.

The two of them were huddled together in the back of the white van, with Heather at the wheel, her two lethal guardians watching over them as the tight ropes cut into their wrists and ankles, making escape practically impossible. And they had tried. Their efforts had only brought unwanted attention to themselves with Hiccup earning a massive wack to his jaw, the bruise already clearly discernible.

They had been left in an uncomfortable position, their pain levels and endurance being tested to the very core with every jolt and bounce they suffered as they laid on the metal floor of the vehicle, their painful cries of misery being wrenched from their lips each time they were jostled mercilessly. Their eyes were wide open, and the utter fear and despondency was clearly visible on both their faces.

They didn't think they would be getting out of this one.

Without warning, the van slowed down and turned off the highway and onto a dirt road, judging by the increased amount of jostling the vehicle was putting the young captives through.

Despite his pain, Hiccup demanded loudly, "Where are we?" The trio in front ignored him. Just then, the van gave a particularly large jolt, and Hiccup had to screw his face up tight and bite his bloody and swollen lip to prevent himself screaming out in utter wretchedness.

The van travelled much further down the bumpy road, the pain for the young captives becoming excruciating, as they slid and bumped unrestrained across the floor, Hiccup's metal leg scraping loudly with every slight movement. It only barely covered the whimpers and grunts they tried hard to subdue.

It seemed to take forever before finally the van came to an abrupt halt, throwing Hiccup and Astrid forwards. This final action brought on a fresh wave of suffering on their already tortured flesh, leaving them gasping helplessly as they waited for the agony in their bodies to subside enough so that the stars behind their eyelids could settle down... when the side door was thrown open.

They were finally able to get a closer look at the woman behind their momentous suffering.

"Welcome to your worst nightmare," she sneered.

-oOo-

Stoick and Gobber had found the crash site hidden behind some scrub, using the directions they had been given. They had struggled to wade through the scrub, and then the muddy field, all the while wondering what they were going to find. They had called out several times as they crossed, but had heard no reply.

Both men halted as they drew close enough to see in vivid detail the destruction wrought on the downed plane. They were standing closest to the fuselage of the plane, the plane tipped up on its side away from them. The trail of destroyed vegetation and ploughed earth where the plane had skirted across before stopping at its final destination could be easily seen.

The two men gingerly picked their way through the multitude of scrap metal pieces lying at their feet, bracing themselves for what they might see on the other side. Crossing in front of the nose with the twisted propeller blades still in place, they came to other side where the wing was completely destroyed.

Stoick stood up straighter, scanning rapidly across the scene.

" _WHERE ARE THEY?_ " he roared in distress. He had fully expected to find them here, in one state or another, to finish this nightmare that he was in. But there was nothing.

He located the bag with the empty water bottle lying in the field. They had survived, it was obvious. But at what cost? And where were they now?

Gobber called him, "Stoick! You'd better look at this."

Stoick marched over to the cockpit where his friend was standing. As he drew closer, he could see what Gobber was looking at.

Blood.

It was everywhere, smeared over the instrument panel and the window frame, over the nose of the plane in amongst the shattered glass fragments. There was a line of it where something had dragged through it down the side of the aircraft. There were even small pools of it on the earth and the flattened vegetation where something had laid down, presumably Hiccup and Astrid. Stoick bent down to pick up another empty water bottle hidden under the damaged wing. The bloody fingerprints stood out clearly on the side. He dropped it again. He also noticed the bloody rag.

"What have those two had to endure?" Stoick wondered faintly, staring at the carnage before him. The urge to locate his children and bring them home safe became stronger, and he started to search the muddy earth around him. The teens had to have walked from here, so all he had to do was locate their foot prints.

"Not enough blood to be lethal," Gobber interjected into his thoughts. "More than enough for them to be hurting."

"Yes, Gobber. I can see that," Stoick replied, irritated. "Look for their footprints. They can't have gone far."

The trail of the two young people was quickly located, and they tried to follow it out of the field, but found themselves in the same predicament as Hiccup and Astrid had been in earlier. The mud stuck to them closely, making walking difficult, especially for one-legged Gobber.

By the time they emerged out of the other side, they were exhausted, sweating and covered in stinking mud.

Gobber voiced the thoughts they both had.

"How on God's green earth did those two pull that off while they were battered and hurting?" he wondered.

Stoick couldn't answer. His panic was starting to rise.

"We've got to find them…. _Now_!"

-oOo-

 **Warning: Squeamish bit! Might want to skip this part and go to the edited version below.**

Hiccup and Astrid found themselves in a very old, deserted cabin. The room they were in could only be enthusiastically described as 'filthy and disgusting'. The single small window had been boarded up a long time ago, the only residents were the rodents and the spiders running rampant throughout the room.

The single piece of furniture was an old fashioned rusty iron bed. The hard mattress that covered it was ripped and stained with who-knows-what kind of disgusting stuff. Adding to the mess, was the blood and mud from the young couple lying on their sides facing each other on it. Their arms were stretched above them uncomfortably, secured with tight ropes to the bed head. Their feet were still tied together at the ankles, secured to the base of the bed with more rope.

The pair were almost unrecognizable as even being alive, having both suffered terrible beatings from their captors once they had arrived at the ancient cabin. Hiccup and Astrid had been dragged from the van and forcibly pushed inside the structure. Once they were inside away from any prying eyes, Heather had instructed her lackey's to tie Astrid to the bed in the small room, before beating Hiccup into submission. They had tied his hands together and suspended him up on a hook protruding from the roof and struck him over and over again as he yelled, with no chance to escape or retaliate.

Then it had been her turn.

Astrid had cried out in fear and anger, even attempting to push one of the huge men over while she was tied up. But in the end, she had suffered the same fate with Hiccup watching helplessly. She had screamed in pain as each blow landed on her battered limbs and body, until she had mercifully passed out, her anguished cries seeming to pierce his shattered heart a thousand times over.

When Heather had been satisfied the two had been tortured enough, she ordered the barbarians to tie them to the bed in the small room, giving them the 'concession' of facing each other, so they could watch each other suffer and slowly die, before locking the door and leaving them there to ponder their fate.

At first Hiccup had tried to comfort Astrid after she woke, and she had cried in pain and fear, losing precious fluids in her battle against dehydration. Eventually, she had cried herself to sleep, her swollen and bloodied face almost unrecognizable. Hiccup was devastated at the realization the pair were going to die in such a horrific fashion. He knew their battered bodies would be left here to rot, never to be found in such an isolated location.

He thought about his dad and never being able to tell him he loved him, that he was sorry for all the things that had gone wrong. He thought about Toothless and Eret, possibly undergoing the ultimate sacrifice for them, all for nothing. He thought about all their friends and how they would feel about the two of them never coming home.

He thought about Astrid, his golden haired goddess that he had loved from afar for so many years, and how fortunate he was that she had shown him how much she had loved him too. He still couldn't believe that she did, but now he wished she hadn't. Then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation. She was only here because of him.

The sense of overwhelming loss was too terrible, and he could not overcome it anymore as he was wracked by dry sobs, no moisture left over for tears. His tongue was dry and swollen from dehydration brought on by a lack of water and too much blood loss. His mental agony was matched only by his physical discomfit, every inch of him screaming in pain. He felt light-headed and nauseous and prayed for relief, hoping that death might come swiftly for the two of them. He didn't dare hope that they would be offered some kind of reprieve allowing them to re-join their loved ones. At this point, it seemed too unbelievable.

Finally, he had fallen asleep too.

 **End of squeamish bit.**

 **Edited version starts here:**

Hiccup and Astrid found themselves in a very old, deserted cabin. The darkened room they were in could only be enthusiastically described as 'filthy and disgusting', with the spiders and the rats being the other occupants in the room. The only item in there that showed the rooms original use, was an old rusty iron bed. The battered young couple were facing each other, lying on the hazardous zone which had been a mattress in a previous life. Ropes kept them attached to the bed frame, with their arms stretched above their head and their feet tied to the base with rope. They were almost unrecognizable after their ordeal, swollen and bruised after being beaten by their captors with no chance to escape or retaliate.

Astrid had cried out in fear and pain, as Hiccup tried to comfort her, but he too was devastated with the realization that they had been left there to die. They were both suffering from dehydration, after being given no food or water by their captives, their tongues sticking in their dry mouths. Finally, she had succumbed to sleep, leaving Hiccup to suffer on his own.

He thought about his dad and never being able to tell him how sorry he was. Also Toothless and Eret, perhaps giving up their own lives for them, all for nothing. He wondered how their friends would feel about them never coming home. And finally, he had thought about Astrid, beautiful Astrid, whom he had loved for so long and who had finally shown him how much she loved him back. He bitterly wished she hadn't. She was only here, because of him.

Hiccup felt sick, his tongue dry and swollen from dehydration brought on by no water and blood loss. He was so overwhelmed with feelings of despair and excruciating pain, so distraught that he found himself praying for death to come swiftly. For how could they hope for rescue now? It seemed too impossible.

Finally, he too had fallen asleep.

 **Edited version ends here.**

-oOo-

Snotlout turned the van into his driveway and parked it. The hour was late, and he was exhausted. They had driven up and down that highway all day, and found nothing. Gobber had contacted them and told them about the plane crash, but they hadn't noticed anyone on the side of the road. So Astrid and Hiccup had disappeared into thin air again.

He and the rest of the gang had come back to Berk late in the afternoon and visited Eret at the hospital. He was still beat up but he wanted to be part of the search party, so the teens had promised to pick him up early the next morning when they started out again.

They had also gone to the Vet Clinic to collect Toothless after the vet had told Stoick the wolf was going crazy trying to get out of the cage. They all knew that Toothless was beside himself with worry over his boy and girl. The canine was staying with Fishlegs for the night, and they planned to take him in the van with them tomorrow as well.

Snotlout sighed as he prepared to shower and get into bed. It was going to be a full van with five people and one wolf. Especially if they had to search all day again. He hoped Hiccup and Astrid were alright. He would never admit it out loud, but he cared deeply for them both.

He also hoped that Ruff and Tuff would remember to pack enough snacks for them all for tomorrow.

-oOo-

A middle-aged man turned his sedan into his driveway, glad to be home at last. His work required him to drive the highways a lot, and it always wore him out. He wasn't fond of driving too much, especially when idiots in white vans cut him off. He made a mental note to complain to the police about it in the morning as he put the car into 'park', ready to shut the motor off.

As he reached for the key, a newsflash on the radio made him freeze. He listened to the police requesting information on a young couple who had been missing for two days. They believed that three criminals in a white van had been pursuing them. Their last known location was on the highway leading to Berk, where they had survived a light plane crash. It was believed they were probably trying to walk home.

The man thought back to the incident he had been a party to earlier that afternoon. He recalled the white van cutting him off in a great hurry, and he also recalled that same van had collected a couple from the other side of the road.

Possibly a young couple, trying to get home to Berk.

He shakily pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialled the number for the police.

-oOo-

Stoick was lying back in his car seat again, listening to the snores of his friend vibrating through the vehicle. He had pulled over reluctantly several hours ago, when they realised that they could do nothing more until the morning. If Hiccup and Astrid were still on the road, they would have gone to ground for the night anyway.

He had slept a fitful hour or two, exhausted from the weeks of worry, but then woken up in distress. He kept replaying the day's events over and over again in his mind, wondering if they had missed something important. He thought they might have finally found them at the plane site, only to have the two slip through his fingers again. They had been so close he could taste it.

Without warning, the phone in his pocket began to ring, and Stoick hastily sat up and pulled it out. Glancing at the screen, he noted that the police were calling him. With great trepidation, he answered, "Hello?"

He listened intently to the latest update, as Gobber woke beside him.

His hand started to shake as he whispered, "Thank you Detective. I'll see you in the morning."

Dropping the phone on his lap, Stoick leaned back on his seat, rubbing his face roughly with his hands.

"Well? What did they say?" demanded Gobber.

Stoick closed his eyes and gathered his courage before he could answer. The silence terrified Gobber.

"Tell me, Stoick! What did they say?" he demanded fearfully.

"A witness came forward…" the big man swallowed hard, his throat threatening to close over. "He saw the kids being taken by the hoodlums in the white van."

Gobber gasped, "Oh Stoick. I'm so sorry."

"There's more…..he...he was behind the van….and saw it turn down a dirt road."

Gobber's face paled. There were a lot of dirt roads. How were they going to find the right one?

"The witness gave the police a general description of the area, but it's going to be impossible to find at night. We're going to have to wait till morning," he groaned in despair.

Gobber shivered.

'In the morning' might already be too late.

* * *

 **I hope that wasn't too bad...unfortunately, there's worse to come. So hold on tight...we're diving in!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Remember...M rating**

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid were staring at each other. They knew it was early in the morning because of the dull light entering the room through the tiny cracks in the walls and ceiling. Both had managed to get some sporadic sleep last night, but the pain in their bodies and the pain in their hearts kept them awake the rest of the time.

They had drawn closer to each other, as best they could with their limbs tied together, so now their bodies were sort of touching. At least their knees were anyway. Despite their swollen lips and dry tongues, they had spent the time reaffirming their love for each other, acknowledging that at least they were going to die together. They had accepted their fate, having tried everything possible to escape their bonds, but the ropes were just too tight and their hands too swollen.

They had received no food or water from their captives and their stomachs had grumbled in protest, but it was their dry mouths which caused them the most problems, preventing them from freely speaking to each other. The trio outside were already awake and were discussing the best way to 'dispose' of their captives. Hiccup and Astrid could hear every word, but were strangely calm.

The voices were moving around the cabin outside of their door. One of the men left only to return a few minutes later. It was soon apparent what he had done, when the sound of a radio came on. It was tuned into a music station and they heard one of the men start humming along with the song. The other man laughed at his feeble attempts to stay in tune but stopped when the first man growled at him.

As the song ended, a female voice came over the radio. The two men were still arguing when Heather shushed them to listen to the broadcast.

"….a witness saw the young couple being kidnapped by three people in a white van along the highway to Berk yesterday. He then trailed the van to a dirt road outside of Ravens Point where the police expect to close in on the fugitives early this morning. He was also able to give the number plate details to the police who have identified it as the one responsible for the earlier attacks on the young couple….."

"That's it! We're done!" growled the first man.

"Don't panic, you idiot!" came Heather's harsh voice. "They're just bluffing, they don't have any of that information. We need to finish the job as planned, and then we can leave."

"No way!" yelled the second man. "It's time to go. Now! We can leave those two to rot here anyway. No one will be able to find them, but we need to get out right now."

Hiccup and Astrid held their breath as they strove to hear every word. This was _their_ lives they were talking about.

"Alright then!" Heather snapped. "Pack up and leave now while it's too early for the cops to be out of bed. Don't leave anything behind that will identify us."

Hiccup and Astrid listened to the frenzied activity as the three gathered what items they had and carried them out to the waiting van, slamming the cabin door shut behind them and locking it. It wasn't long before the engine started and the whine of the engine as Heather quickly reversed was the last they heard, before complete and utter silence.

"What do we do now?" whispered Astrid frantically.

Hiccup tugged uselessly at the bonds on his hands for the umpteenth time. "It's no good! We've tried everything possible to get out of here. We can only hope that someone finds us soon," he choked out.

"Do you think it was true? What was said on the radio? Or was it just a bluff to flush them out?" queried Astrid thickly, her voice rasping over her dry throat.

"It couldn't be a bluff. Otherwise they wouldn't have known that they had managed to catch up with us yesterday," responded Hiccup thoughtfully. "Somehow, those crims slipped up and someone saw them….and then reported it to the police!" he croaked.

Astrid started to feel a sense of hope, but decided to squash it. Finding the trail leading to them in a mountain of dirt trails was going to be like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. Heather and her hoodlums may have gone, but their rescuers still did not know where they were. It would be too easy to find them... too late.

She tried to lick her dessert dry lips.

"So…we get to die a slow death instead of a quick one?" she asked slowly.

Hiccup did his best to gaze into her bruised blue eyes with his one working eye, and one semi-closed swollen eye. "Not the best ending, I know."

"Well, if I have to die, than I'm glad I'm with you…Not that I want you to die, mind you," she added hastily.

He almost managed to lift the corner of his swollen lip. "I don't want us to die either, and I wish you weren't here with me. But if I have to die with someone, than I'm glad it's you. I don't think I could ever live without you anyway," he added earnestly.

Astrid contemplated him for a moment. "What if one of us does survive? And the other doesn't? What would you do if you make it and I don't?" she asked in all seriousness.

He squeezed his eyes tight against the unexpected question and the instant massive spear of pain that exploded in his heart had nothing to do with his injuries.

"I couldn't live without you, Astrid," he rasped, his emotions raw on his tongue. "I would want to die if you left me." A single tear fell from the corner of his eye, the last of its kind.

She leaned her body against his, attempting to offer some sort of comfort. She wanted to kiss him on his dry lips, but pain and the awkward angle they were forced to hold prevented her from kissing his fears away, as she so badly wanted to do.

"I feel the same way," she whispered roughly. "But if you do survive without me, promise me this…I want you to truly live, not just survive. I want you to _live_ …for me. Travel the world…laugh…have friends…play…. _fly!..._ whatever you want to do….Just take me with you in your heart…and live…for me. Can you do that for me, Hiccup?" she asked him tenderly.

"I…I don't know Astrid. I've always loved only _you._ I've dreamed of doing all those things…with you. If I tried to do any of that without you…I'd be lying to myself and everyone around me."

"And that's _why_ I want you to do that. I don't want you to think of me and be sad. I want you to be happy when you think of me. If you chose to kill yourself slowly through grief because I was no longer there, then you would bring dishonour to my memory. I want you to be happy, to _celebrate_ for me. If you are happy, then I would be happy. If you were sad all the time, then I would be sad. Do you understand me?" she quizzed gently, searching his face keenly.

He closed his eyes, wanting to see the beautiful, flawless Astrid he had known ever since they were kids. If she was going to leave him, he wanted his last memory of her to be perfect. It would be easier to live life as she wanted him too if he remembered her like that, not the bruised and bloodied face that was currently before him, reminding him of his guilt.

He nodded. "I will try…for you. But I'm not going to make any promises as to _when_ that happens."

She gave a brief raspy chuckle. "Good! That's all I ask. But what about if _you_ end up going first. Do you have any requests for me?"

His gaze on her tortured face softened, and his eyes shone. "If I left you first…you could do what you wanted. I only wish for you to be happy. If you happen to remember me in the process, I will be ecstatic."

Astrid sighed sadly, "Hiccup, I could never forget you. Even if I live to be a hundred years old…I could never forget you. You would always be my first love, my only love. I doubt I could ever find anyone to ever replace you. I would rather die an old maiden first."

He couldn't help it, he stifled a dry sob as her profession of love hit his heart.

"Oh, Astrid," he groaned, sounding so mournful it was as if his voice had been wrenched from deep within the earth itself. "Let's just hope we get out of this together…so neither of us have to live without the other." And with that he sobbed freely but no tears fell.

-oOo-

Red and blue lights flashed, the sirens wailed as several police cars surrounded a white van in the centre of the road. Doors were opened, and guns drawn as the police commanded the three inside the van to 'come out with their hands up'.

Slowly, the doors to the van opened up, Heather appeared with her arms stretched above her head; the two oversized villains did the same on the other side of the vehicle. She smirked. The police may have caught up with them, but they were _never_ going to find their quarry.

-oOo-

Snotlout was exasperated. He was back behind the wheel of his van again with the twins, Fishlegs, Eret and Toothless along for the ride. They had travelled this same stretch of road between Berk and Ravens Point that many times over the last two days that he figured he knew every tree and rock. Almost.

At the moment, the twins were arguing over food, none of which they had offered to him, and Fishlegs was muttering something incomprehensible in his seat as he looked over some maps. Eret was sitting beside Snotlout watching the antics in the back with mild disbelief. Toothless was close behind Eret's seat, having spent the night with Fishlegs.

"Is it always like this?" Eret asked Snotlout in amusement.

"Yeah, always," replied Snotlout. He neglected to add that usually he was in the thick of it as well, but for the moment, _somebody_ had to drive. Plus Snotlout had an overwhelming sense of guilt that had stuck to him like glue for the past week, driving him on to find Hiccup and Astrid.

He felt like it was _his_ fault that Astrid was targeted outside the Burger House, where stupid Hiccup had to go play hero and get injured in the process. Although he had to admit if Hiccup hadn't rushed in, things would be a whole lot different for Astrid right now.

He just wished Hiccup and Astrid would jump out from the side of the road and wave them down. Then they could all go home and go back to normal. But no! And of course Hiccup had to make it hard for everyone, and get captured by the bad guys.

So now they were scanning for a spot where the white van had driven down a dirt road. Stoick had rung him earlier that morning with the news the pair had been spotted. He was under strict instructions to get there as soon as possible and start searching.

Snotlout grumbled to himself. Isn't that what he had already been doing for the past two days? Putting up with those morons in the back hadn't made it any easier. Instead of searching the countryside, they'd been too busy fighting each other, even after Snotlout threatened to leave _them_ on the side of the road. But he hadn't been game enough to carry out his threat. He didn't want to have to come back and start searching for them as well. The twins probably would hide from him on purpose.

He snorted. It was probably going to be another long, useless day.

"Gimme some of that food!"

-oOo-

"Let me have a word with them," boomed Gobber in a menacing voice. "I'll soon _convince_ them to tell us where they are. You won't have to know about it. Just look the other way for a few moments," he told the Detective. He added in a low, dangerous tone, "That's all it will take."

The Detective shuddered. Despite all the evil things he had seen in his career in law-enforcement, the thought of having to defend himself against the one-legged beefy man with a hook for a hand and a poisonous sneer on his face was one he didn't care to have. He was glad Gobber was on their side.

And Stoick. The seven foot colossal sized man with the impressive red beard was even more frightening than the man with the hook. But the two of them together?... The Detective thought to himself if those two ever decided to pair up as law enforcement, every crook and petty thief in town would pack up and leave! He smiled to himself and made a mental note to never get on the bad side of either man.

They were all currently in the police station at Ravens Point, where the three fugitives had been cornered. Heather and her two henchmen had so far, refused to tell them where Hiccup and Astrid could be found. In fact, the black haired woman had positively sneered at them, saying she would rather rot in hell than tell them where to find their 'precious' teens.

The Detective had glowered at her and had to leave the room before he did anything rash. As an upholder of the law, he was not allowed to 'break' the law. He knew time was against them. She had already told them in gruesome detail what state the teens had been in when they had left them early that morning, and that was a few hours ago. He was glad Stoick and Gobber had not heard those descriptions, because he didn't think any man on earth would have been able to stop them charging in and ripping the three of them apart.

He narrowed his eyes at Gobber thoughtfully. Maybe he could turn a 'blind eye' for a moment.

-oOo-

Snotlout complained, loudly, as Eret directed him to _another_ possible dirt road. "We can't look down _every_ dirt road! We want to find the _right_ dirt road."

Eret stared at him strangely. "We won't find the right one, until we search all of them," he said slowly, waiting for his words to sink in.

He had been with the gang long enough this morning to realise that Snotlout was missing a few marbles too. He was incredulous that Hiccup and Astrid hung out with this lot. They obviously saw something in them that he couldn't. Fishlegs he understood, as he was clearly quite intelligent, even though he was a little weird, but the rest…not so much. If he ever got the chance to see Hiccup again, he'd ask him.

Snotlout pulled off the road, but they hadn't gone far when they were confronted with a solid wall of trees. Clearly, this was not it. He groaned, and shifted the gearstick into reverse, backing out of the small space.

He checked for traffic before heading back onto the road. They drove slowly down the road on Eret's advice, and kept searching for more dirt roads.

They noticed a gap in the tree line, but as the van drew closer, they realised there was no road. It was just a gap. However Toothless started whining behind Eret, his ears perked up. The closer they got, the louder he got until he unexpectedly howled.

Now, having a wolf howl in the distance is eerie enough. Having one howl right beside you while trapped in a metal box on wheels was downright scary. Guaranteed to get the attention of everyone in there.

Tuff had his hands over his ears, "Make him stop!" he yelled.

"How are we going to do that?" asked Fishlegs, his hands over his own ears.

"He's probably missing Hiccup," surmised Ruff. "He'll stop."

Snotlout went to drive on, but stopped in alarm as Toothless became more frantic, leaping onto Eret's lap and practically pushing his way through the half-opened window.

"Toothless! Stop!" begged Eret, who was bearing the brunt of the wolf's escape attempt on his lap.

Snotlout grumbled, "He probably just wants to lift a leg."

"Well, then pull over!" demanded Eret, who was being pummelled mercilessly by the furry canine.

Snotlout pulled off the road again, allowing Eret to open the door in relief. Toothless promptly launched himself out the open door and disappeared into the trees. The gang awkwardly waited for the wolf to return. But after several minutes, it was apparent to all that Toothless would not be returning anytime soon.

"Maybe he found something?" suggested Eret.

Snotlout snorted, "Yeah, like a squirrel."

"He's probably bored. Like me," put in Tuff. "Maybe he wanted to stretch his legs."

Eret was worried. "I'm gonna look for him, guys," he told them as he slid out of the passenger seat. He walked towards the trees where he had seen Toothless enter into the scrub, but as he walked he noticed something.

"Tyre tracks!" he muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" yelled Snotlout.

Eret turned around to face the car, his eyes as big as saucers. "Tyre tracks! Someone's been down here!" he called back.

"Yeah? So?" snorted Tuff from the open side door.

Eret rolled his eyes, as Fishlegs excitedly got out of the van. "How old are they?" he demanded.

Eret studied the ground more closely. "Very recent!" he called back to Fishlegs, who was trotting over to him. "See the bruised plants where the tyres have run over them?" he pointed out to the big man now beside him. "They're still green."

He looked up into the wide eyes of Fish. "Do you know what this means?" whispered Fish.

Eret nodded. "We've found them!"

* * *

 **Finally! But are they in time... (Sorry, just had to do that to you!)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Just a reminder of the M rating. Proceed with caution. Look for the markers to skip over the squeamish bits.**

* * *

Hiccup was deliriously exhausted, bone dry thirsty and hungry. He was also in an excruciating amount of pain. He knew Astrid wasn't fairing any better. She had faded into oblivion a while ago, despite his attempts to keep her awake. Her body was shutting down and sleep was its way of preserving itself. He just hoped she would wake again. Or maybe it would be better to just drift off into sleep….and never wake again.

His brain felt foggy, he was confused and disorientated. He could see the bright sunlight coming in through the many cracks in the building, but didn't know if it was morning or afternoon. He couldn't even tell how many days they had been there.

He was also hearing things.

He thought he could hear a snuffling sound, like an animal sniffing around the building, looking for a way to get in. Hiccup froze. There were some big animals in these woods. What if one broke in while they were still alive? Death by starvation was one thing. Death by being eaten alive was something totally different.

The snuffling lasted a few more seconds, before it stopped. Hiccup listened intently but couldn't hear anything more except for the birds singing in the trees. He started to relax, thinking whatever it was had gone. Probably nothing except for his addled brain dreaming of things that didn't exist.

Hiccup's eyelids started to droop again, his fatigue overwhelming him. He thought to himself, 'Just a few minutes. That's all.'

He fell asleep.

-oOo-

Eret called Stoick to let him know they had found the track and were on their way down to investigate it. He could hear a lot of shouting going on in the background of Stoick's phone, but wasn't game enough to enquire what it was all about. It sounded like he would be better off _not_ knowing.

He told Stoick the location and how to find it. (Tuff had found a tin of spray-paint in the back of Snot's van and sprayed a large 'X' on the side of the road). They were about twenty minutes south of Ravens Point, so Stoick would likely get there before they'd had time to find anything, but maybe that was a good thing.

Eret and Tuff walked along the path, searching for the tyre marks so they would know which way to go. It was frustratingly slow work as there were so many empty spaces a vehicle could have passed through. The ground was quite firm so the tyre marks were fairly light and difficult to see in most places.

Snotlout drove the van at a slow crawl behind them, while Fishlegs walked beside the van, pointing out the way to go to him.

Ruff was behind the van, marking the way in with the spray paint for Stoick and the police. And occasionally the van itself. But seeing as the paint was white and the van was white, no one was going to notice anytime soon.

Eret was surprised when Toothless suddenly appeared in front of him. Being a black, soft footed animal had its advantages where stealth was requred, it seemed. He licked Eret's hand and whined, before disappearing back into the scrub.

Eret said more to himself than the others, "We're definitely onto something here," as he carefully searched the bush where the canine had simply vanished.

-oOo-

Stoick couldn't get into the car fast enough. Gobber had managed to extract the information they needed from the fugitives just as Eret had phoned. Stoick himself hadn't been allowed in by either Gobber or the Detective. They both feared the bloodbath that would ensue if the three idiots said anything about Hiccup and Astrid. (Gobber had been told a little by the Detective and it was he who advised against letting the protective father in.)

Stoick found himself impatiently waiting for his friend Gobber and the police, which chaffed him as he was straining to be reunited with his children. "Come _ON_ Gobber!" he bellowed.

"Coming Stoick," Gobber puffed, hobbling along with his peculiar one legged gait.

Gobber finally slid into his seat and had barely closed the door before Stoick planted his foot on the accelerator. The V12 engine responded with a roar, pushing them backwards into their seats, as the car sped down the road. He soon left the police behind…and the speed limit. Gobber hesitated, and decided not to mention the fact that speeding with the police close behind you might not be such a great idea. But he didn't think any of them were going to say anything to the highly agitated man today.

"Hold on, Hiccup. I'm coming for you."

-oOo-

Hiccup was dreaming.

He could hear Toothless whining, trying to get to him.

"Hey bud, where are you?" he murmured, his throat dry and painful.

He tried to move, to search for his wolf, but couldn't move. His legs felt heavy, his arms felt heavy. The whining came again.

"Toothless, I'm here. Come here, bud," Hiccup tried to call out, but his voice was harsh, almost unrecognizable. He couldn't work out which direction the sound was coming from. He was stranded in a fog, a dense dark fog that surrounded him on all sounds, making it difficult to see.

He tried to move and felt something pressed against him, something that stopped him moving. He searched for it but couldn't find it. He couldn't see what it was that was touching him.

But then, some of the fog drifted apart, just enough to see what it was. It was Astrid, and she was sleeping. He stopped to look at her. She was so beautiful. Her golden hair was loose around her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face. She seemed so peaceful that he had the urge to kiss her gently, to whisper to her that he loved her.

He tried to lean forward, but found he couldn't. Then something strange happened. The fog started to swirl around her, hiding her from him. Astrid's beautiful face was soon replaced by a strangely darkened, swollen unrecognizable face. He tried to step back in horror, but couldn't escape. He was pinned down, unable to move. He started to panic as he tried to pull away.

He could hear Toothless whining again, getting louder and more urgent.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called urgently. "Find me! Where are you, Toothless?" he cried again and again with difficulty, his tongue thick and dry. The strange face was still in front of him.

But then something made Hiccup peer at it more closely. This face seemed familiar. Where had he seen her before? He suddenly gasped as he realised. It was Astrid!

For a moment, the black fog lifted and he found himself in a darkened room with Astrid lying in front of him, her face swollen and disfigured. "Astrid!" he called to her, hoping she was still alive. " _Astrid_!" he called again, louder. He heard whining and yowling again, accompanied by a scratching sound. "Toothless? Are you really here?" he asked confused.

The scratching suddenly stopped. He listened carefully. "Toothless? Toothless!"

But no sound came back. Nothing. The black fog seeped in again, around the edges first, but soon it had enveloped everything again, and Hiccup's head lolled back, having fallen into a dreamless sleep.

-oOo-

Eret was getting frustrated. Several times they'd had to back pedal after taking a wrong path. Toothless kept locating them, whimpering and moaning with more and more urgency each time. As time passed, the sense of dread kept building in Eret's chest, till he was almost choking on it.

Finally, he decided that the next time Toothless came back, he was going to abandon the vehicle to the others, and follow the wolf himself. He wanted to find Hiccup and Astrid as soon as possible, because he was sure that they weren't going to be in a good condition, judging by how he himself had been left by the same thugs. And they didn't have time to finish the job for him.

He hoped they hadn't finished the job with the young lovers.

So it was with a great sense of relief when he saw Toothless bounding back towards them.

"Okay, Toothless. I'm coming with you this time," he told the wolf grimly. "Let's go find them."

He jogged after the canine's retreating back, leaving the others confused.

Fishlegs was the first to realise what was happening, and he stepped forward to take Eret's place in locating the pathway. They needed to keep pushing forward. Hiccup and Astrid were going to need help and that meant vehicles. Vehicles needed a path, and that was the job they had to finish right now.

Eret jogged behind Toothless for a few minutes, managing to keep up with the black canine. Especially after the wolf slowed down and waited for him. They went behind a small thicket in the otherwise sparse scrub, and Eret was surprised to find a decrepit cabin hidden behind there. It looked like it had been abandoned many, many years before. The building was closed up tight, and it didn't look like anyone had been in it recently. He searched all around it, looking for another possible hiding spot for the young couple.

Eret turned to the wolf and watched him closely. He was scratching at the door of the cabin in a determined manner. Eret decided to chance it. "HICCUP! ASTRID!" he yelled. He listened, but could hear no response. His blood ran cold. He hoped they weren't too late.

He ran to the door, but found it was locked.

"Toothless, are you sure this is the right spot?" he asked the wolf, uncertainly.

Toothless scratched again at the door as his answer.

"Well, alright then. If you say so," muttered Eret, turning his attention to the rest of the building. He walked around it, searching carefully for any weak spots that would allow him entry. By the time he had travelled around it once, the rest of the gang had finally arrived.

"Oh! It was right here the whole time?" quizzed Tuff.

Fishlegs perused the thicket. "That bunch of trees hid it from view," he declared to the others.

"Yes, yes, we can see that," snipped Snotlout impatiently, after he got out of the van.

He stood staring at the cabin.

"Are they supposed to be in there?" he asked nobody in particular.

"Toothless says they are," said Eret firmly, peering at the door again. "And I'm inclined to believe him."

"ASTRID! HICCUP!" yelled Tuff suddenly, making everyone jump.

They all turned to glare at him. "What?" he shrugged.

"Can you maybe warn us next time?" groused his sister, "before you scare us all half to death!"

Snotlout shrugged, "There's no answer. They're obviously not here."

Eret glared at him in disbelief. "You do know that they are probably knocked out, right? Those guys beat me and Toothless up pretty good. They left us for dead and that was only after a few minutes. They've had Hiccup and Astrid all night. Who knows what condition they're in right now, but I doubt they'll be able to answer us."

Fishlegs turned on Snotlout as well in exasperation, "Did you think they'd just be sitting here waiting for us to turn up and rescue them?"

Snotlout paled. He hadn't thought about the pair being hurt. He may have been senseless and selfish, but he still cared about them. He _had_ thought they'd be lost somewhere, and he would just swoop in and pick them up and be the hero. He hadn't thought it was going to be this serious. He hung his head, ashamed.

Tuff approached the door. "Doesn't look too hard," he boasted. "I'll soon have this open, I just need to use my head!"

He backed up from the door.

Eret hesitated, "Uh, what are you doing?"

Ruff answered, "Duh! He's going to use his head," indicating that Eret must be deaf or stupid, cause Tuff had clearly told him what he was going to do.

Tuff had obviously backed up enough. He stood with his head lowered and yelled, "Arrrghhh!" before charging towards the door, and crashing into it.

The door did not move, but Tuff staggered back, holding onto his head with both hands, "Ooohhhh," he moaned. "A four Ruff rating."

"Ngh! Not bad," Ruff shrugged, her arms crossed in front of her.

Eret rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Are you serious, man?" he asked the dreadlocked blonde.

"As serious as a heart attack," answered Ruff for her brother nonchalantly. "And that's serious….Do it again!" she encouraged her dizzy brother.

"As soon as the door stops moving," he slurred back at her, his head still spinning even as he readied himself to charge again.

"STOP!" yelled Eret, standing between Tuff and the door with his hands up.

"Okay," agreed Tuff and promptly fell over.

"Spoilsport," muttered Ruff under her breath, unmoved by her twins collapse.

Eret opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound of more cars travelling through the scrub stopped him.

"Oh good," he sighed in relief. "Some real help has arrived."

Thanks to their earlier efforts in marking the trail, the other cars found their way through very quickly. The first on the scene was Stoick and Gobber, followed soon after by several police cars.

Stoick didn't even turn the engine off before he bounded out of the car, he was that desperate to find his son.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" he boomed.

Eret pointed at the locked door. "We think they're in there sir, but we can't get in."

Stoick and Gobber looked at each other and nodded, communicating in a way that only years of close friendship could achieve.

They lined up the door between them and rushed towards it, their shoulders bursting through the old timber at the same time.

Eret turned to Tuff still out on the ground, impressed with their teamwork. "See? That's how you do it," he told the prone blonde, before charging in behind the two big men, Fishlegs and Snot close behind.

"I'll take notes," quipped the blonde teen, pointing his finger in the air, before dropping his arm back to the ground.

"HICCUP! ASTRID!" roared the distressed father, followed closely by a worried Gobber. They quickly searched the building, finding evidence that someone had been there recently, but they couldn't locate the two people they were after. Gobber noted one section of the cabin had a large amount of blood sprayed finely everywhere and it worried him deeply. Casting a quick glance at Stoick, he decided not to point it out.

Eret's eye was diverted by a large hook hanging from the ceiling in one of the rooms. It seemed to be reasonably new. For some reason, it made him shudder.

Toothless had followed the bulky men in, and was now scratching at a door that had been almost hidden away in the dark wall panelling. His actions caught Eret's attention.

"Sir! I think they might be here!" he called out to Stoick and Gobber. He tried to open it, but found this door was locked as well.

Stoick and Gobber quickly reunited to crash through this door too, and they disappeared into the gloom, Eret a few steps behind. He couldn't see into the small room, but he heard the two men gasp at whatever they found.

"Hiccup! Astrid!" moaned Stoick with a voice filled with so much despair, that Eret's breath caught in his throat. Had they been too late after all? Eret heard a crash as Stoick fell to his knees on the ground, and he faltered before stepping into the room behind the two large men. What he saw made him gasp as well.

 **Graphic Bit. Skip if squeamish.**

Stoick's eyes were filled with tears as he took in the terrible site that was Hiccup and Astrid. The two were lying on the ancient bed, facing each other, their arms stretched above them and tied with strong rope to the bedframe. Their hands were swollen and covered in dried blood. Where their fingernails should be, was only ripped and raw nailbeds. Their clothes were ragged and torn, muddied and bloodied. Hiccup's shirt was visibly slashed in multiple places, the fabric soaked in his blood. Their legs were tied together at the ankles and secured to the bed, deep bruises visible under the ropes. Hiccup's metal prosthetic was tied to his good leg, but the metal was obviously cutting into the skin of his other foot. Their legs were almost unrecognizable with the amount of deep cuts, welts and bruises criss-crossing under a layer of dried blood and more mud and filth.

But what was worse were their faces. Their eyes were swollen and discoloured, closed tight. Their puffed up and distorted lips were dry and cracked, matching their chaffed and peeling skin, coloured red raw where they weren't covered in purple bruises.

Astrid's hair was barely in a braid anymore, it was sticking out in every direction, laden full of sticks and twigs, knots and mud. Some of it stuck to a huge gash on her forehead which had left dried blood all down the side of her face. Hiccup's hair was almost black with the amount of grease and dirt he had in it.

The stench of decay and stale blood filled the air, making everyone ill.

 **End graphic bit. Let's just say, Hiccup and Astrid were found unconscious in a bad way.**

Eret asked in a whisper, "Are they….?" He didn't dare to say any more than that.

Stoick leaned forward and placed an ear on his son's chest. He listened carefully, and his astonished face gave evidence of something that none of them thought could be possible.

"He's alive," he whispered.

"So is Astrid," added in Gobber, after he had checked over the once blonde female.

"How is that even possible?" questioned Eret.

Snotlout and Ruff pushed in behind Eret.

"Are they in here?" asked Snotlout, forcing Eret up against the wall.

"Woah!" said Ruff after seeing the two on the bed.

Snotlout said nothing, but he clamped his hand over his mouth as he raced outside looking very green. Everyone could hear the sound of retching going on outside the house. Eret knew how he felt, his stomach was churning too.

"What is it?" asked Fishlegs worriedly after witnessing Snot's rapid departure. He was still outside the room.

Ruff stopped him. "Don't come in, Fish. You'll have nightmares for years if you do."

Eret backed her up, knowing that Fish was the most sensitive of the bunch. "You'll see them for yourself soon enough. Just don't look in there, if you know what's good for you."

This made Fish even more worried, but he didn't have the chance to argue, as the police finally arrived on the scene. The Detective was the first in the door, and he wordlessly followed the line of ashen faces leading to that small room of horror, Eret and Ruff having already vacated.

They heard him choke and saw him promptly leave the room, his face pale. He stood outside the cabin, gulping in a few breaths of fresh air before returning back to the scene. He ordered one of the policeman to quickly take some photos before Stoick carefully cut the ropes holding the two hostage. The big man dropped the pieces into a plastic bag that an officer held open for him. He wanted to throw them away and burn them, but knew the police needed the evidence to convict the three lowlifes for as long as possible.

Once the police gave their permission, Stoick and Eret bent down to collect the two and carry them outside, Gobber waiting up against the wall inside that tiny squalid prison. Eret went first, carefully sliding his bulky arms under Astrid's slim form. The movement jostled her slightly, and he became unnerved to hear her crying out in pain. She moaned, "No! No! Please, no more! Let me die…"

Stoick looked up startled, and shared a look of dismay with Gobber and Eret as the younger man froze with her in his arms. "What happened to them?" he whispered, appalled.

Eret was horrified as he contemplated the possible answer. He resettled her in his arms, causing her to stir and groan in pain again, before she mercifully fell unconscious against him.

He stood, waiting, while Stoick hesitantly attempted to lift his son, cradling his head on his broad shoulder. As he did Hiccup's breaths came in shorter, sharper bursts, and his face contorted in pain. He groaned so pitifully that Stoick had to pause to control his tears. Gobber was against the wall, watching it all, his face pale and tears running down his face. He wiped them silently away with his good hand, wishing he'd never had to see this scene at all.

Finally Stoick managed to lift Hiccup, and carry him sideways out of the room. Eret was close behind with Astrid, her head lolling listlessly against his chest.

Fishlegs was outside of the house, standing next to Tuff, who both gasped in shock at the state their friends were in. Fishlegs had tears streaming down his cheeks as he took in their damaged condition.

"How many doors did they run into?" wondered Tuff.

"Too many," grunted Eret as he walked past with his battered and fragile load.

The two men tenderly laid their charges on the waiting ambulance trollies, the ambulance officers efficiently taking over from them, connecting them to drip lines to rehydrate their fluid starved bodies.

Toothless hadn't left Hiccup's side from the moment he had squeezed into the room between Stoick's knees. He was still there now, under the wheels of the trolley, glancing over to his girl on the other trolley, but sticking close to Hiccup. His ears pricked up as Hiccup moaned again, Stoick beside him in a flash.

"Hiccup, I'm here. You're safe now. We found you," he murmured reassuringly to his son, holding onto his hand gingerly.

The young man forced one eye to open into a small slit.

"Dad? Is that you?" he mumbled through swollen lips.

"Yes, Hiccup. I'm here," his father gently rumbled, his voice unsteady. "We're taking you to the hospital now, son."

"Astrid? Is she okay? Where is she?" Hiccup croaked.

"She's safe too, son. You're both alive…somehow. She's in the other ambulance."

Hiccup sighed gratefully, before asking again, "Heather?" he questioned.

Stoick frowned, and his face darkened. "They're in prison," he informed his son with a harsh growl.

"Good," grunted Hiccup, allowing himself to relax.

Stoick waited for the next question, but none came. He had passed out again.

The ambulance officers took the opportunity to load both of the teens into two separate vehicles. Toothless suddenly realised his two favourite people were being taken from him and became frantic, growling and yipping at the officers, who promptly stepped away from their patients. He had just found them, and now these people were taking them away from him?

Stoick tried to comfort the animal, "Toothless! It's okay! They're only trying to help. You need to let them go!" But the wolf didn't seem to understand and he continued pacing between the young couple.

Snotlout tried being authoritative, "Toothless! Heel! Get over here!"

But the wolf ignored him.

Eret hesitated, before deciding that he might as well have a try at comforting the black wolf.

"Toothless," he began gently, bending down on one knee. The wolf glanced over at him quizzically.

"Toothless, come here boy."

To everyone's surprise, the wolf trotted over to Eret for a brief moment, before he scampered straight back to the two comatose teens.

Eret patiently tried again, "Toothless, you need to come here. We need to get Hiccup and Astrid to the hospital. They won't get well if you don't let the officers take them. You'll see them soon, trust me."

Toothless stopped in his travels, and raised his head to stare at Eret. His gaze switched between Hiccup and then Astrid, before he hesitantly stepped slowly over to Eret, his tail tucked down low. He kept glancing back at his boy and girl, until finally Eret was able to lay his hand on the animal's head.

"They'll be okay," he murmured to the canine, as he stroked his fur. "You'll see, they'll be home soon."

Toothless gave a sad lick to Eret's hand, but stayed where he was.

Stoick breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded to the ambulance officers. They proceeded to quickly climb in and close the doors, not willing to create a second opportunity for the wolf to interfere again.

Stoick climbed into the back of ambulance with Hiccup, after asking Ruff to escort Astrid in her ambulance.

For the second time in two days, the young couple were taken away by a white vehicle.

* * *

 **So they've been found...but it's not over yet.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry folks…there was too much of an angst fest going on…so I've toned it down and rewrote the last three chapters. If you read this story previously, you can skip forward to chapter 32. If you haven't, then read away. Hopefully this will be more in keeping with the rest of the story, and I can** _ **finally**_ **finish it!**

 **I apologize for the false alarm on the update for those who found chapters missing. I intended to have the new chapters ready to replace them, but it didn't work out that way.**

 **Thanks again for all your reviews. I do pay attention to what's been said. At the same time, I need to write this for me. So I hope we can find a nice middle ground.**

* * *

Stoick was distressed. The journey to bring his son and Astrid to the hospital had not been pleasant at all. The joy of finding them alive had been tempered with the knowledge they could still be lost as a result of their severe injuries.

He relived in his mind's eye, the terrible screams of pain and anguish that had come from the two of them and shuddered. There was nothing in the parental guidebook about coping with such a moment as that. He could clearly see the haunted expressions on the faces of Hiccup's friends, as they also listened and endured, confronted in a shocking way with the realisation that either one of the pair could still be lost to them all. It was not a look he would forget anytime soon.

Stoick had sent them all home once the traumatized couple were safely under the hospital's care. Gobber had gone with them to collect Hiccups bike and to retrace the terrible journey the young lovers had been forced to take. Gobber had told him later, that it had been a very quiet and sombre mood for the group of friends, as they had reflected on what had happened. The idea that their small gang could be broken apart was quite a confronting one.

Stoick himself had stayed close to the pair until he had almost been forced out the door by the staff, begging him to get some rest. He had reluctantly agreed and found this hotel, where he had showered and eaten a meal, but found he couldn't relax. It hadn't taken long before he'd started ringing the hospital every half hour instead, until they had firmly told him that the staff would ring _him_ if anything changed.

So now here he was, with a hot cup of coffee in his hands, staring up at the night sky from the verandah of a hotel room, hours away from home. "Oh Valka," he sighed deeply. "Where are you when I need you?" But the stars had no reply.

-oOo-

It was a very long two weeks later, before Stoick had been finally able to bring Hiccup home. After a week in Intensive Care at Ravens Point Hospital, where he had mostly been in a coma, Hiccup had healed enough to be moved to Berk's Hospital for another week of care. But Hiccup had changed. Stoick had watched helplessly as his once tenacious and determined, but fun loving son, had turned into a broken and defeated shell of a man.

He knew his son unfairly blamed himself for everything that had happened to him and Astrid, and hadn't yet forgiven himself for the problems fostered onto them by that deranged woman Heather, and her insane brother Dagur. No one had been able to convince him otherwise.

After a week of watching him moping listlessly at the hospital, Stoick had felt perhaps that taking him home might provide a spurt of inspiration to the young man, and help him regain his zest for life. For this reason, Stoick had convinced the hospital to discharge his son, and had brought him back to familiar surroundings. They had arrived back only yesterday.

But right now, as he silently watched the boy emerge from his room, his expression flat and soulless as he hesitated long enough to gaze over at Astrid's closed door, Stoick wasn't so sure anymore that this had been a good idea. Hiccup stumbled slightly on his way to the kitchen, his shoulders hunched over. Stoick frowned as he took note of his son's skinny frame. It was painfully obvious how much weight Hiccup had lost in the hospital. He'd always had a thin build, but now he was almost skeletal.

Hiccup hadn't even noticed him standing to the side, as the boy trudged towards the fridge in the kitchen, apathetic in his search for food. Stoick watched as his son selected a slice of bread from the packet, and then dumped it in the toaster, before sitting at the kitchen bench with a heavy sigh. Stoick silently approached him, placing a gentle hand on his son's frail shoulder.

"Mornin' son. Did you sleep well?" he asked kindly.

Hiccup flicked his eyes momentarily towards his father before staring down at his hands. "Fine, thanks," he mumbled flatly.

Stoick felt a little piece of his heart die as he watched the dejected young man before him. Hiccup's toast popped out, and Stoick picked it out to place it on a plate, covering it with butter in the way the lad normally liked. He placed it in front of his son, then watched as he picked listlessly at it without eating any.

"Come on son, you need to build up your energy again. You're as thin as a toothpick now. We need to put some meat back on your bones," Stoick urged.

Hiccup turned towards his father. "Why?" he demanded harshly. "So I can disappoint everyone again? So I can hurt everyone again? It would have been better if I had died."

Stoick's breath caught in his throat, and he reached out to touch his son, but faltered when he saw him flinch. He cursed the twisted siblings yet again for causing so much despair in his life. He knew Hiccup's body would heal, but the torment in the boy's heart would be much more difficult to remove.

"Well, I for one, am glad that you didn't die," Stoick told his son, capturing Hiccup's jaw with his massive hand and drawing him gently to look into his eyes. "I've already lost your mother, I don't intend on losing you too. I will do everything in my power to help you see that life is not worth giving up on, not just yet. You've still got so much to give, Hiccup. I believe you will rise up stronger than ever from this experience, provided you don't give up on yourself. Or Astrid."

Hiccup pulled his face away from his father's grip, but said nothing as he glanced up at the big man with such a haunted expression in his eyes, that it made Stoick draw in a quick breath.

He went back to picking his toast apart.

A soft noise behind the two men drew their attention. The door to Astrid's room had opened, and a small blonde woman emerged. She appeared just as haggard as Hiccup and held herself carefully, as if any slight movement might trigger off a spasm of pain. She hesitated as she noticed Hiccup's intense gaze on her, before dropping her eyes to the floor and walking with determination towards the two of them.

Hiccup's eyes never left her as she moved across the room and chose the seat beside him. However, the gap between the two was noticeable. Not even when they were 'just friends' had there been so much space.

"Morning, Astrid!" Stoick rumbled. "Sleep well for your first night back?" he asked with a warm smile, pouring out a fresh mug of tea for her.

He heard he sigh as he handed it to her.

"Not really. It was too quiet. I'd gotten used to the constant noise at the hospital I suppose. Kept the nightmares away," she finished softly.

"Aye. It takes a while to adjust," agreed Stoick, nodding at her. He was surprised when Hiccup asked Astrid suddenly, "Did you have nightmares?"

Stoick watched with keen interest as he noted his son gazing fixedly at his girlfriend, who returned his stare without wavering. "Yes...In my dreams, I couldn't find you...I...I missed you, Hiccup," she told him softly.

The red haired giant felt his heart drop, as he saw his son turn away from his her, his face twisted in self-loathing. Astrid only gazed at him sadly. She tried to reach out and touch his hand, but Hiccup pulled his arm back quickly, before standing and walking towards the couch, sinking into it despondently. The black wolf padded over to rest his shaggy head on the boy's knee, but even that didn't gain a response from the lad.

Stoick turned towards Astrid. "I…I'm sorry lass," he whispered dejectedly to the girl. "I thought bringing you two home would help him. But he refuses to believe it wasn't his fault."

She patted his arm reassuringly. "It's okay. He'll come around….eventually. It's just going to take some time."

Astrid glanced over at Hiccup before turning back to Stoick. "Do…do you think we could have some time together...alone….We never had that chance in the hospital, we were always being interrupted."

Stoick was more than happy to agree. Whatever they needed, he would pull out all stops to provide it. "Yes of course Astrid. Take as much time as you want. I'll be in my office if you need me."

She gave him a small grateful smile before he turned to disappear down the hallway into his office, closing the door softly behind him.

Astrid waited till she heard Stoick's office door closing before turning her attention back to the lonely figure in the middle of the room. She wandered over to sit on the opposite end of the couch, wincing as her cracked ribs reminded her yet again, that she was still far from being healed.

Taking the moment to first study her distraught lover, she could see he was avoiding her, looking everywhere else except towards her. She could see how thin he was, and a wave of pity shot through her as she took in the many fresh scars he had accumulated, some of which were still healing. But it was the wounds hidden deep inside his damaged mind which concerned her the most.

Astrid's gaze flicked towards her own scars as they criss-crossed over her legs. She gave an ironic smile as she realised she could never be called beautiful again. They would be permanent reminders of the traumatic events they had endured. But right now, she needed him. And he needed her. But he couldn't look at her without seeing his own guilt.

Astrid understood that was how he felt, although she didn't blame him at all. In her eyes, he had done everything possible to save them both. But what frightened her most was the thought that he might pull away from her completely, and she didn't think she could ever live with that.

"Don't leave me Hiccup."

This startled him, and he finally turned to look at his girlfriend.

"I'm not leaving you," he replied flatly before averting his gaze again.

"You've already left," she whispered. He had always been close by while they were in the hospital, but had refused to talk with her or anyone else. Astrid hugged herself and drew her knees up under her chin, staring at the floor. She felt him hesitate on the couch beside her.

"I'm still here, aren't I?" he answered back, doubtfully.

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Astrid questioned. "Your body might be here, but your mind left me a long time ago," she told him grimly, blinking back the sudden tears.

He responded angrily, "Maybe you'll be better off without me. I won't be able to hurt you anymore, will I?"

"You're hurting me now," she told him coldly.

"Well, that just proves a point doesn't it," he responded gruffly, turning his head away from her. On his lap, Toothless started to whine, but Hiccup just pushed him away roughly. The wolf sat back with a surprised look on his face.

Astrid gasped, she had _never_ seen him do that to Toothless! He was his best mate, they had always looked out for each other.

"Why did you do that?" she asked incredulously.

"Do what?" he asked, confused. He didn't seem to have realised what he had done.

"You just pushed Toothless away! Do you even know what you did?" she asked, astounded.

He turned towards the wolf staring at him in accusation. Hiccup's eyes clouded over, and he dragged an exasperated hand through his hair as a touch of guilt appeared, before his features hardened and he faced the surprised and confused girl beside him.

"No," he snapped. "Maybe he's better off without me too, seeing as I can't even be trusted to get that right either," he almost snarled, frustration and disappointment evident in his voice as he battled his own demons.

"Hiccup! No!" she cried, frightened at where this conversation was leading them. She sat up straighter on the couch.

The auburn haired youth clambered to his feet, his face contorting in pain as his ribs complained about the movement. He stood up and looked down at the girl he loved, the beautiful girl with all the new scars marring her once pristine features, who was even now staring at him in fear and confusion.

He regarded her with a momentary wistfulness, before his features turned hard again. "I love you, Astrid. Too much to let you keep on getting hurt because of me. You said it yourself when you were in the hospital after being hit by the van. ' _Is it always going to be like this_?' Do you remember saying that?" he argued, his arms waving wildly in the air as he spoke.

The young woman winced, recalling her words. She hadn't known it was going to end up like this, that they would almost die.

She regarded him sorrowfully, "Do _you_ remember what I told you…when we thought we were going to die? That I wanted you to _live_ if I should die first. I didn't want you to dishonour my memory."

He turned away from her, biting his lip, but didn't move.

"I didn't die, Hiccup. I'm right here," she told him softly. She moved to get off the couch, and his darkened green eyes whipped back to watch her as she stood up. She moved silently to stand in front of him, daring him to hold her gaze. He kept watching with those haunted eyes, but did not move, except to cross his arms in front of his chest, which proved a little difficult with a plaster cast on.

"Don't dishonour me while I'm still alive, Hiccup," she pleaded softly. "I can't live without you. I need you in the same way I need air to breathe, or my heart to beat. You never caused me any harm, Hiccup. We just got caught in the crossfire of someone else's problems…"

His face hardened and he stepped back away from her as he interrupted savagely, "Someone who targeted _me_. You wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been for _me_! Anytime you are near me, it leads to disaster. I…I love you too much to let that happen to you again…I…I couldn't live with myself knowing you were hurt…because of me…" His voice dropped away to a whisper and his arms dropped to his side as he faltered.

"And I love you too much to let you go," she responded, moisture glistening at the corner of her widened eyes.

"I…I can't do it Astrid," he whispered, absolute fear and devastation written all over his face. "Every time I try to think of you…..all I hear are your screams….all I can see is what they did to you…." He squeezed his lids shut tight against the memories.

She stepped forward in determination, resting her hand against his chest. "Then let's make some better memories. Don't let them win, Hiccup. If you keep blaming yourself for what _they_ did, you'll let them win! ...Do you want them to destroy you? Me? Us? …Because if you keep thinking like this, then _you_ are the one who killed us….not them….You. And why? Because you refused to let them take the blame for what _they_ did….Not you…. _they_ did it to us…." she hissed at him, almost stabbing him in the chest with her finger, angry that he wasn't listening, that he was prepared to destroy the love that had been newly discovered between them, just so he could continue to blame himself for anything that happened to her!

Hiccup staggered back at her outburst, his mouth hung slackly open as he took in her words, wretchedness evident with his every move.

"But I…" he finished lamely, the words falling uselessly to the floor.

"You what, Hiccup?" her anger raged as she pursued him, stabbing him in the chest with her finger, causing him to step back. "Did _you_ pull the gun to my head?" she demanded to know.

"No! I would never…."

"Were you behind the wheel of the van that tried to kill me?" she continued with her tirade. She was mad! She needed to get the message into that thick skull of his.

"NO!" he practically shouted, devastated.

"Did _you_ tell the goons to smash their way in and beat up Eret and Toothless?" She poked him again in the chest, pushing him backwards. He faltered under her attack.

"NO! NO! NO!" he yelled, pushing both his hands through his hair in frustration, stumbling slightly over the carpet.

"Well, _you_ must have told them to tie us up and leave us for dead in a rotten cabin then, cause I'm having a hard time trying to find which part you were responsible for," she snarled at him, her blue eyes blazing.

"But I…" he whispered, unable to find the words he needed to keep condemning himself. He glanced wildly around the room trying to find….something. His green eyes locked on the only thing that made sense…Astrid.

"You what?" she questioned again in a much quieter tone. "I know what you _did_ do…." her voice softened as she fixated on him. Her fingers spread and her palm flattened against his chest. He stood still, gazing down at her in confusion and wonderment and maybe a little fear.

"You piloted that plane and saved us both from certain death…" she began, her intense deep blue gaze never wavering from his.

"… _You_ got us away from those goons when they chased us, _you_ kept finding ways to keep us away from them….for goodness sake, you got an ancient aircraft in the air!" she cried suddenly, slapping him flat on his chest. He staggered slightly under the assault and grabbed her elbows to steady himself. In return, she grabbed two handfuls of his pyjama top and pulled him closer to her.

She whispered to him, " _You_ kept me going at the hospital…I kept fighting…because of _you_ …"

He blinked in surprise, and his grip on her elbows tightened.

She pulled in closer and lifted her chin slightly higher. Her voice lowered and he couldn't help but notice the husky quality as she spoke. "Because I loved you…and you loved me…."

His eyes fell to her partly open lips as she tiptoed up to reach him. He paused for a moment, then sighed and bent his head to meet hers, his lashes closing as his mouth opened slightly to connect with hers.

But he never got there, as he suddenly found himself being pushed backwards. He yelped as he staggered and waved his arms wildly to rebalance himself.

She steadied him before quickly releasing him. Turning away from her lover, she walked across the room hugging herself. Bitterness crept into her voice as she continued, not even looking at him. "But none of that matters anymore, because _you_ want to give it all up…for what?...to keep up the 'Hiccup pity party?'" she spat out.

Hiccup's pale face blanched even more, as her words hit him with more force than if she had punched him with her fists. His hands trembled as he agitatedly pushed them through his hair, his breath shaky as he tried to talk, "Astrid…I…." but the words failed him and he stopped.

She continued on as if he hadn't said anything.

"I obviously don't mean enough to you to keep fighting for me," she kept her back to him and spoke in a low flat tone, her head turned slightly to one side.

"No…." he whispered, appalled she would even suggest it.

"Even when I'm in the same room with you, you won't touch me or get close to me. Do you know how much that destroys me, Hiccup? Have you thought about that?..."

No, he hadn't. But he was starting to get the picture. And it wasn't pretty.

"I thought once we got out of the hospital, you might change…but you haven't…You gave up, Hiccup. You gave up on me…and yourself."

The sorrowful young man hung his head behind her, ashamed to admit she was right.

"I love you Hiccup….but I can't live like this…." she continued in the same low voice.

His head snapped up and ice cold fingers of fear wrapped around his heart when he heard her say those words. They did not auger anything good.

"If you can't fight for me…for us…then I have to go….I…I'll go pack my things and be out of your hair by lunchtime. I'll get my parents to pick me up."

She started to move off towards her room, then stopped and turned to look back at a stricken and wide eyed pale young man.

"You win, Hiccup. _They_ win. And I lose."

-oOo-

Hiccup stood in absolute horror as he watched the woman of his dreams walk away from him. He felt panic rising through his chest and up his throat as he stood open-mouthed and wide-eyed, watching her walk away from her. Her hand was resting flat on her door before he could move, "NO!"

She hesitated and turned towards him, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

"No, _please_ Astrid," he said in a strangled voice.

He raised the palm of his hand towards her in a 'stop' motion. "Please…please stay…I…I can't live without you, please don't go….don't go," he begged.

He watched as she hesitated. He took a step closer to her, his legs feeling like jelly and not even sure how he was still standing. He only knew fear...fear of losing her and never seeing her again. Her words had made him realise what a fool he had been...believing that pulling away from her would save her from harm and pain, only to be told he was actually _causing_ her grief.

"I…I'm sorry, Astrid…so sorry," he pleaded, fully expecting her to not forgive him.

She watched him warily, wavering. "Do you really mean that?" she asked cautiously.

Hiccup placed his hand on his chest, "With all my heart," he assured her as she waited, her hand still resting on the door. "I…I love you, Astrid. I truly believed I was doing the right thing, but….it's obvious now I was wrong….very wrong," he admitted, taking a slow step towards her. "And I am deeply, deeply sorry about that." His brows knitted together in anxiety. "Please Astrid, can you give me another chance? Will you let me show you, just how sorry I am? Please? Astrid?" he took another slow step forward. She hadn't moved, but had started chewing on her bottom lip as she stood in pensive thought.

He approached her steadily until he was directly in front of her. He gently took her hands and placed them on his chest, covering them with his own. She turned her shimmering blue gaze towards his deep green anxious ones. He murmured gently, "Astrid, I will spend the rest of my life making this up to you if I have too, but please, will you reconsider leaving and stay here? Right here beside me?..."

A tear trickled down her cheek and he reached out to caress the droplet away with the back of his fingers. She closed her eyes and he felt her shudder slightly before leaning into his hand.

"I must be addicted to you, to want to take on your craziness," she muttered breathlessly.

A small bubble of hope popped in Hiccup's chest, as he traced his finger along her jawline to cup her chin, guiding her to look up at him.

"I certainly hope so," he responded with the hint of a smile. "Will you stay?" he murmured, as he tenderly stroked his thumb across her cheek.

Her eyes lit with fire, daring him. "Will you stop blaming yourself?" she asked.

Hiccup frowned slightly, "I can't promise that will happen overnight, but I will try, Astrid. I…I want to keep fighting for you…for us," he assured her.

He released her chin and once again covered her hand still on his chest. He felt relief flow through him as she gave a small nod and smiled at him.

"Oh, thank you Astrid," he sighed gratefully, releasing her hands to wrap his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. He tucked her into the space under his chin where she fitted so well.

"You won't regret this," he told the top of her head, feeling her hands snake around his chest.

He was surprised when she demanded, "Then kiss me already, you fool."

Hiccup gave a goofy grin and didn't hesitate to comply, bending down to tenderly kiss those lips that had haunted his dreams so badly in the last two weeks. He was ready...to start new good memories...to replace the bad ones. He wanted to fight for them...and to win.


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry again...this chapter has not changed for those of you who have been here before. For new readers, please take a moment to read the end notes when you get there. Thanks!**

* * *

Hiccup frowned as he contemplated the object in front of him. It was showing him the course he needed to take, but it wasn't the one he wanted to do.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Haddock! Just move already!" said the exasperated blonde opposite him.

He gave a sheepish grin, then frowned again. "I'm just checking my options, alright?" he complained.

"There are no options. You rolled a six, now move your piece….and pay up," she demanded with an evil grin.

He sighed, "Okay, okay….Boy you sure are pushy when it comes to money," he grumbled, reaching forward to move his token on the Monopoly board in front of them.

His father laughed heartily beside him. "You should have seen how your mother was whenever we played. She was downright murderous!" He laughed again at the recollection.

Hiccup and his dad were currently beside each other on the couch, with a small table in front. Astrid was sitting on the floor opposite to them, Toothless by her side. Her hand would stray every now and again to give him an affectionate rub…whenever she wasn't being bloodthirsty in her approach to ensuring she was leading the game.

It had only been that morning when Hiccup and Astrid had come to an agreement – Astrid would stay, and Hiccup would stop blaming himself for all the harm that had befallen them – but Stoick was grateful for all the improvements he could already see in his son. The young couple had drawn closer, but there was still a little emotional distance between them that only time would heal.

Right now though, Hiccup was being soundly beaten by Astrid, despite all his attempts to avoid his inevitable fate. He moved his token – he had chosen the dog of course – landing on Astrid's 'Park Place'.

She cackled as she rubbed her hands together in glee. "Pay up Haddock!" she demanded, her hand out waiting for the play money to be reluctantly placed there.

"You are relentless! I think it was a very bad idea making you the banker as well," he groaned in dismay, surveying the little 'cash' he had left.

She just laughed as she counted out the paper, separating it into organized piles.

"Inside knowledge is a wonderful thing!" she giggled at him.

Stoick laughed as he collected the dice for his turn.

"She's a ruthless one, that's for sure," he agreed with his son. He rolled the dice, but ended up smacking his forehead when he realised he was about to fall into the same trap as his son.

Hiccup smirked, "Not so funny being on the other side, now is it, dad?"

Astrid just snorted in glee, checking over her card for the exact amount that Stoick needed to pay. "And I'm being easy on you two. If you want to see a real slaughter, I can play much harder than this," she told them with a mischievous smirk.

Hiccup was astounded, "This is going easy on us? Boy, remind me never to get on your evil side," he commented, but smiled fondly at his girlfriend.

"And don't you forget it, either! I am Queen of the Monopoly board!" she declared with a flourish of her hand, accepting Stoick's payment halfway through.

"Next time we're playing something else," the auburn haired youth grumbled.

"That won't save you….I'm pretty good at just about everything," declared Astrid airily.

Stoick roared with laughter, as Hiccup hunched his shoulders in mock defeat. "I'll find something to hold against you….just give me some time," he declared, a fiery glint in his eyes.

She accepted the challenge as she rolled the dice for her turn, "Oh it's on! Any game! I'll win it!"

She moved her token forward, only to miss Hiccup's spot by one space.

He groaned again, "Are you kidding me? Let me check that dice…I'm sure it's loaded." He made a grab for the plastic cube.

"Uh, uh, uhhh," she shook her finger at him as she reached the dice first. "Now you're just grasping at straws!" she teased. "I didn't peg you for a sore loser, Hiccup!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to be _this_ far behind!" he griped, waving his hand over his miserable collection of cards and pretend money.

"Well, you should have thought about that a little harder, before you passed over all those opportunity's to buy property at the start of the game," she advised him blatantly.

"I was being selective," he whined, throwing his hands in the air and sitting back in defeat.

"Hard and fast is the best way to go," she admonished him. "Be selective _after_ you've established yourself!"

"Thanks for the advice….I'll be sure to remember it for next time," he deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"Oh hush! And roll the dice, it's your turn," she giggled at him.

He sighed and picked up the cube, throwing it haphazardly across the board. Glancing at the number he moved his token only to land on….Baltic Avenue…belonging to his father. "Great! Now I have to pay you as well," he complained.

Stoick placed a heavy hand on his son's defeated shoulders, "Aye lad. It's just not your night tonight, is it?"

"What makes you say that, dad?" he muttered sarcastically, handing over his more of his rapidly diminishing pile of 'money'. "Can't you see I'm just rolling in it?"

"Rolling in self-pity is more like it," came the caustic remark from the girl on the floor.

Stoick lifted his head and absolutely roared with laughter. As he did, a small explosive sound could be heard. Stoick stopped laughing immediately, his face flushed red with embarrassment.

"A little too relaxed there, are we dad?" came his son's deadpan comment, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Astrid was astounded, but soon her face was twisting as she noticed something unpleasant getting in the way of her nose. She tried to keep a polite expression on her face, and not breathe at the same time, but politeness was rapidly losing out.

Toothless lifted his head from his position beside Astrid and took a tentative sniff, before hastily rising and slinking from the room, his tail between his legs.

"Great, now we've been abandoned by the great black Wolf, King of the forest," Hiccup began again, as Astrid tried to covertly cover her nose and gasp behind her hand.

"Er, excuse me if you don't mind. I…I think I might call it a night," Stoick muttered, flustered. He stood up to leave, discreetly waving his hands as he went. Unfortunately, this seemed to make things worse and Hiccup's eyes watered, having been closest to the source of the pungent odour.

He coughed and called out to his father's rapidly retreating back, "Lay off the beans next time, will ya dad?"

His father only 'Ummed' and left them to the consequences.

All politeness rapidly vacated the room as Astrid covered her nose and mouth with both hands and choked.

Hiccup flapped his hands while he coughed, "Haven't missed those I can tell you!"

Astrid tried to laugh and not breathe at the same time but was having a lot of difficulty. She ended up sounding like a strangled chicken.

"Man, how about we abandon ship?" Hiccup suggested.

Astrid only nodded fiercely, as she kept one hand over her nose and accepted Hiccup's offer to help her up with the other.

He guided her out to the side door leading to the garage, where the air was infinitely cleaner. They both gasped, closing the door firmly behind them, the light disappearing as it shut.

Astrid had her hands on her hips as she sucked in precious breaths. She glanced sideways over at Hiccup who was doing the same. Their eyes caught, and they both exploded into laughter till tears ran down their cheeks.

"I thought you were kidding!" Astrid gulped, holding onto her sides to brace them.

"I never kid about something that serious," Hiccup told her with mock graveness.

"How did you ever manage to survive _that_?" she asked curiously.

"I learnt to hold my breath long enough for me to leave gracefully," he laughed, his white teeth shining in the darkened room. "Seriously, I can challenge any underwater diver for the amount of time I can hold it," he continued, chuckling.

"I'd like to see that sometime," she teased. "That could be a very useful skill!"

"For you, ma'am, anything," he countered back.

There was an awkward pause as both wondered what they should say next. They had lost their ease with each other, but they both hoped they could gain it back soon. They had kissed in reconciliation this morning, but hadn't really been close since, maintaining an uncomfortable space between them instead, even as they tried to keep the conversation light.

"Uh, so how long does it take….you know, for the 'air to clear' in there," she asked, embarrassed.

He scratched his head as he screwed up his face, "Umm, yeah….it can take a while, especially if we didn't put the fan on before we left."

"Should we go back in and turn it on then?" she motioned as if to head back towards the door.

He hurriedly put out his hand in a 'stop' motion. "NO! Um, I mean…I wouldn't recommend it…dangerous for your health and all that," he finished lamely.

"Well…what should we do now then?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Are we just gonna sit here in the garage for the night?"

Hiccup scanned the room, searching for ideas. His vision landed on his bike, sitting in its usual spot. He noted that the paintwork had been redone and the chrome repaired and polished, although the specific artwork that Hiccup himself had put there was now missing.

Astrid noticed and her face brightened, "How about a night ride? That would be great to clear the air!"

Hiccup inexplicably shuffled backwards. "Uh, maybe not tonight, okay?" he murmured hesitantly.

She hadn't noticed his reluctance, and was purposefully striding towards the bike. "Why not? You're good to ride, aren't you? Haven't you missed this?" she asked, searching for the helmets. The jackets had been totally destroyed during their little 'excursion', but that wasn't something to deter them.

"No….maybe I'm not ready to ride again so soon after getting out of the hospital, you know?" he fumbled in the darkness.

She located the helmets on a bench, and picked one up. "I found them! What do you mean 'you're not ready to ride'? You're always keen to ride," she asked quizzically, turning in his direction.

"Umm, not this time, okay Astrid?" He had backed right up to the workbench running along the length of the rear wall, and was sliding along it, putting more distance between himself and the steel beast with a wild look in his eyes that Astrid could not quite see in the darkness.

She heard the tremor in his voice though. "What's wrong, Hiccup? I don't understand?" she asked in a lower, concerned voice.

"I…I just can't alright?" he started to hyperventilate a little as he wedged himself into the small space created between the front of his jeep and the work bench.

"Hiccup? Are you okay?" Astrid asked, alarm sounding in her voice as she realised that something was very wrong. She placed the helmet back down where she had found it, and worked her way through the darkness to her boyfriend.

He shrank back even further as she drew near, "No! Don't come any closer!" he begged, his breaths becoming more shallow and ragged.

She stopped, perplexed. "What's happening, Hiccup? Tell me please!" she asked worriedly.

He spoke one word syllables between sharp breaths, "I…can't….go….near…that…bike," he puffed rapidly.

Astrid paused to think, then realisation slowly dawned on her. She told the anxious young man her thoughts in a slow, careful manner, "Hiccup, I think you might be having a panic attack. Please breathe…slowly…in and out, okay? I'm right here where you need me."

He nodded and closed his eyes, frightened at what was happening to him. The room was swirling around him in a dizzying storm. He found it difficult to breathe, to think. He just wanted to get the heck out of there, but where, he didn't know. Astrid continued to reassure him, and her calm words reached him as he fought to steady his breathing, forcing the air in through his nose and out through his pursed lips. Eventually, he felt more in control and the huge lump of fear that had threatened to overtake him, had dissipated somewhat.

He opened his eyes and stared straight into Astrid's very concerned blue ones. "Are you okay?" she asked gently, hesitating to draw closer to him.

"Better, I think," he responded, deliberately relaxing his tense muscles, and noticing that he was jammed up against his car. He shuffled out of his hiding spot

"Thank goodness!" the relief she exhaled was palpable. She took a tentative step towards him, and when he did not flinch or withdraw, she came even closer and drew him into her arms and hugged him gently. He responded, pulling her tighter to him, drawing comfort from her warmth. "What happened?" she murmured into the front of his shirt.

His grip stayed firm as his eyes flicked towards the bike. "I…I guess the thought of being on that bike triggered me off," he assessed carefully. He licked his lips nervously. "The last time we got on that bike….it wasn't exactly a picnic…" he reminded her.

She nodded into his chest, "I remember," she said simply. "What do you want to do about it? I mean, do you think you should get rid of the bike? I know you love it, though…"

He shook his head. "No, you and I have too many good memories with that bike. I don't want to just throw all that away…maybe…maybe I'll get used to it or something. You know what they say when you fall off a horse…."

"You need to get right back on again, otherwise you'll always be too scared to ride again," she finished for him.

"Maybe that applies to Harley's and their riders too, hey?" he chuckled nervously.

"And maybe planes too…?" she left the rest unsaid. If the bike was going to trigger a reaction such as that, she could only assume the plane would too. Their last two flights had both ended in disaster for them. She desperately hoped he would not be frightened to fly again. He lived and breathed flying, and if fear kept him away from it, she knew he would end up absolutely miserable.

He gave a shaky laugh, "We'll just have to see how that one pans out later, I guess. I'm not trying for a double panic attack for tonight."

"Okay. One panic attack per day. Got it," she tried to enthuse a little humour in to lighten the mood.

He only squeezed her a little tighter, and took in a few more deep breaths. They stayed there in that position until he had settled enough that he was prepared to relax his arms around her. She loosened her grip too but did not let him go.

"Feeling better now?" she queried.

"Yes, thank you. Although the end result is a lot better," he quipped, giving the top of her head a quick peck.

She smacked him on his hip and giggled, "Don't get too many ideas now!" she warned airily.

"Me? Getting ideas? Heaven forbid!" he said in mock surprise. That just earned him another giggle.

"Well, how about this for an idea that I didn't have," he began. "It's probably still too noxious to go inside yet, so why don't we go for a drive in the jeep instead. You know, with the top down…getting some _fresh_ air…" he suggested carefully.

She peered up at him sharply, pulling away from him. "You want to go for a drive?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, you know….in the car? Should be okay, right?" he asked nervously.

"I don't know. You tell me, Hiccup," she watched him intently, attempting to discern if he was truly okay for this kind of venture, seeing as he had literally backed himself into a corner with the suggestion of a bike ride.

"I…I want to try, Astrid. I've got to try. And this seems the easiest choice. Nothing bad happened in this car," he reasoned, seemingly to convince himself, not just Astrid.

"Yeah, but we will probably cross some streets where stuff happened. What will you do then?" she asked warily.

"I don't know, Astrid. I don't know. Maybe something…maybe nothing….who knows? But if I can do it, maybe it will make it easier to do other things…like bikes," he muttered.

She was pensive as she thought carefully about it. She wasn't sure this was a good idea at all, but if he wanted to try...if he was prepared to challenge his demons...then she wanted to be there. Nodding more to herself she said to the young man in front of her, "Let's do it!"

Astrid opened the garage door to the light of the full moon outside, flooding the interior of the garage. Hiccup gingerly hopped into the driver's seat and waited for Astrid to climb in the other side. She watched him as he searched for the keys.

"No keys," he finally voiced flatly.

"Oh…." she replied with a mix of disappointment and relief.

"Maybe…we could just sit here and pretend to drive?..." he asked quizzically, glancing briefly in her direction. "I'm not sure I could have driven anyway…with this plaster on…" his voice trailed off as he attempted to grip the steering wheel with his good left hand, and his cast bound right arm. He faltered as he tried and failed to wrap his fingers around the hard casing of the wheel. A twinge went through his arm and his face twisted momentarily as he absorbed the shock.

Astrid noticed, "Well, it looks like we're going to be scarpered whatever we try. That arm of yours is not ready yet."

He dropped the offending unit in his lap, clearly frustrated. "I won't be able to do anything for ages yet, with these broken bones. I'm useless!" he cried out, suddenly becoming agitated.

"Hiccup," she warned in a lower voice, reaching out to rest her hand lightly on his arm. "You're _not_ useless. Stop saying that! You've got a broken bone, that's all. Plenty of people break their arms. Once it's healed, you'll be fine again."

"But I _am_ useless!" he insisted wildly. He'd been keeping a tight rein on his emotions since that morning, but too many knock backs had rubbed him raw and he suddenly felt the compulsion to rage wildly at the world around him.

He hit the steering wheel with both of his hands. "Look at me! What can I do now? Huh? Nothing! That's what! _Nothing_!" he shouted as anger and bitterness overtook him.

Astrid grew frightened at how quickly his mood had accelerated, and she shrank back slightly.

He noticed, and it seemed to enrage him further, "See? You can't even stand to be with me!" he berated himself, his hands waving in the confined space.

"NO, Hiccup!" her eyes widened as she sought for the words to calm him down. He had been doing so well today, but it had only been that morning when she had to forcibly remind him that _none_ of it had been his fault. It was obviously going to take some time before he would be able to throw out those deeply ingrained thoughts.

He continued as if he hadn't even heard her. "Why would I blame you for that? I couldn't even protect you!" he practically yelled it into the air.

He turned to her, his eyes blazing with self-condemning madness. "Look at you! Beautiful Astrid! Look at what I did to you!" he indicated towards the multitude of scars crossing over her once unblemished skin. He reached out to tentatively touch the larger, still healing mark above her eye, her apprehensive gaze fixed on him. He gently stroked the entire scar line, murmuring to himself fiercely, "I cut you up and marked you for life."

She shivered, but not from his touch. The bitterness she could hear in his words pierced deep into her heart. She was listening to the man she loved, slowly dying inside from his own grief, and she became afraid. Afraid of what he was going to do, of how little it would take to drive him right over the edge. Afraid of losing him forever.

"Scars fade," she said quietly.

His green eyes suddenly bored right into hers, as if he'd just noticed her. The disgust that twisted his features into an ugly sneer, shocked her and she pulled back further, away from his touch. He held his hand in mid-air for a moment after he lost contact with her, then dropped his hand and turned away from her.

"And when they don't? What will you think of me when you see your beauty destroyed?...Every time I look at you, I will see what I did. How am I supposed to get past that, Astrid? Can you answer me that?" he almost snarled at her.

Her blood turned to ice at his words. She felt breathless, as if she had been slammed in the chest. Tears stung the corner of her eyes. She fought back.

"I can't give you an answer, Hiccup," she told him in a low voice, her fists clenched in anger…anger brought on by his refusal to see in her anything but his own self-blame.

"I would have thought that you knew enough about me to know I don't care about external appearances. I'm sorry you find me so hideous that you can't even bare to look at me. Your scars never bothered me….I hoped you would feel the same way…but I guess I was wrong."

He whipped back to stare at her, confusion and alarm creeping across his face as he started to realise what he had said in the heat of his uncontrolled rampage.

She continued on, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "I love you Hiccup, but if it's going to be like this all the time…then I can't stay here….if I repulse you every time you look at me, then I have no choice….I…I have to go."

She opened the door of the jeep and slipped out, Hiccup watching her with his eyes wide open, horrified.

She walked to the door leading back into the house and paused with her hand on the door knob, her head hanging low as she stood facing away from him. "I'll leave tomorrow. My parents can pick me up….I'm sorry, Hiccup."

And before he even had a chance to call out, she was gone, the door closing firmly behind her.

The dismayed young man stayed frozen to the car seat. He stared at the closed door before finally gaining enough sense to whisper something, too little too late.

"What have I done?"

* * *

 **When this chapter was posted originally, I received quite a few reviews about Astrid leaving Hiccup. So I'm adding my notes about it here again.**

 **Astrid in the last chapter tried hard to break through Hiccup's wrong ideas...even if it was a little bit of 'tough love' the way she did it. It worked for a short moment, but then Hiccup went back to those thoughts and the only thing he could see every time he looked at her, was her 'ugly' scars which he mistakenly blames himself for. He was obviously not going to move forward in his healing in this situation. So Astrid decides she has to go...even though she doesn't want to. She hasn't stopped loving him. She just can't be with him at the moment as her presence is actually making him worse.**

 **But in the next chapters, it will be obvious that Astrid is suffering too. After all, it is not the actual kidnapping that threatens to rip the couple apart...it's how they _react_ to the kidnapping. **

**Hopefully, that clears everyone's understanding of what's happening.**

 **Now I've had my soapbox moment, please carry on!**


	32. Chapter 32

**This is a new chapter, but be warned, angst is still king at the moment. If you want, you can skip it altogether and the next chapter too. I'll leave it up to you.**

 **I've actually reworded and rewritten this part so many times, I'm only hoping I haven't killed it off too badly. But I'm very keen to get to the end...we are soooo close now!**

 **P.S. If you want something lighter to tide you over in the meantime, check out my other story 'Race to the Edge'. Guaranteed no heavy bits. And if you find any, let me know and I will kick that sucker out. Or not.**

 **Anyway, on with the story...unless you're skipping.**

* * *

Hiccup sighed, as he restlessly rolled over in his bed. He lifted his head slightly and blearily glanced at the digital clock, noting the time was three-twenty six am, before dropping his head back on the pillow in defeat.

He exhaled deeply as his thoughts again turned to the previous evening. They had been having fun for a change, until his dad had 'erupted'. But even that had been funny. No, what had really killed the night was his own behaviour. First, he had to go and have a panic attack over the bike, then he had literally exploded in her face, practically telling her she was hideous! No wonder she had left so abruptly.

Hiccup groaned again in anguish. How could he have been such an idiot? Ever since he was released from his medically induced coma, he had been berating himself, convinced that he was the one responsible for what had happened to Astrid. He had decided that she would be better off without him, and had withdrawn from her. It turned out that the hot-tempered blonde had other ideas on that matter, which she had forcibly reminded him of less than twenty-four hours ago. He had tried to change, but his thoughts had been too deep, too dark, too focussed on his own point of view. He hadn't able to 'flip the switch', and now he was paying the price for it.

She was going to leave him.

He sighed again as he rolled over. He might as well get up, he wasn't sleeping anyway. Sitting up, he applied his prosthetic before standing up and walking towards the door.

His hand was about to touch the handle, when he heard something. It was barely noticeable, but he recognized it immediately as a human voice.

Astrid.

Curiosity drove him forward down the hallway towards Astrid's closed door. Cautiously, he placed his hand over the handle, then froze when he heard the sound again.

"Noo….stop!...no more…" he heard her groaning, as she tossed and turned.

His mind turned this over, she was obviously having a nightmare. Then she said something that gripped his heart and squeezed it tight.

"Hiccup! Please….don't leave me…."

He couldn't have prevented his actions, even if he had wanted to. The sound of her pleas drove him straight into her room, reaching the side of her bed within moments. He stood over her, watching her writhe restlessly in her sleep, beads of sweat visible across her brow. He automatically went to wipe them away, but hesitated.

Should he touch her? What if he woke her? The agitated blonde before him seemed to jerk, as if physically struck, and she cried out again, "Arggh! Stop it!...No more…..Please, Hiccup…help me…."

Hearing her pleas tore into his gut and he gave a groan of deep distress before sinking carefully onto the side of the bed. He gently laid his hand across her upper arm and began to stroke her bare skin. He whispered words of assurance to her, "It's okay Astrid…I'm here….I'm here now….It's okay…you're safe…"

Her brow furrowed, but her movements seemed to settle at his touch. Gradually, he noticed her brow relax and her body released the tension it had been holding in. He moved his hand and continued to rub her back. She sighed, and relaxed even further.

Hiccup was glad he could help her, even if it was only in her dreams and decided it was probably time for him to go. But as he lifted his hand and went to stand up, she said quite clearly, "Hiccup, don't go."

He wavered, wondering if she had woken, but her eyes were still closed and her breathing still even.

"Please stay," she whispered.

Hiccup couldn't find it in himself to refuse her, so he sat down again on the edge of her bed and tenderly pushed back the sweat soaked strands of hair from her forehead. He leaned forward to plant a light kiss on her cheek.

As he did, she sighed, a beautiful satisfied gentle sound that tugged at his heart strings. A surge of love threatened to overtake him, and he felt the hot tears on his cheeks as he realised yet again, just how much he cared for this woman before him. She clearly loved and adored him, and Hiccup felt again the weight of grief hit his shoulders, buckling them under the pressure.

He wiped the dampness from his cheeks. Why did he have to go and do something so foolish? How was he going to fix this? He had no idea.

The auburn haired youth sat beside his slumbering girlfriend, contemplating what the future would hold for them both. He didn't want her to go, and knew she didn't want to leave either, but he also understood she felt she had no choice while he continued to relive the torment they had both endured every time he glanced in her direction.

He ended up sitting there for quite some time, just thinking. He was no closer to a solution, when he realised that dawn had started to break and a grey tinged light was entering the room from behind the closed curtains.

He glanced back up at her digital clock and was surprised to see it was almost six o'clock in the morning.

He could hear his father getting ready for the day. Stoick had told them he would be working from home for a few days, until they found their feet, but being an early riser was a habit with him now, regardless of what he was doing for the day.

Hiccup gazed longingly down at the girl in front of him, before carefully removing his hand and standing up. She frowned a little, and shifted slightly, but otherwise stayed where she was. The young man breathed a silent sigh of relief, and headed out to the hallway, closing the door softly behind him.

He paused in the hallway, before deciding to join his father in the kitchen. He wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon anyhow. As he walked, he was intercepted by his faithful canine friend. Hiccup stooped to give the black wolf an affectionate rub behind the ears before progressing towards the lighted room, Toothless traipsing behind him.

"Good morning, son," said Stoick, glancing up from his preparations in surprise. "You're up early!" he began, before noticing the dark circles and the pallid skin tone on his son's face. "Didn't sleep well, then?"

Hiccup glanced up ruefully at his father, "What gave it away, dad?" he asked sarcastically.

Stoick gave his son a warning frown, saying pointedly, "I'm not the enemy here."

Hiccup dropped his gaze in remorse, "I…I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean that…You're right, I didn't sleep at all last night."

Stoick's eyebrows shot up in shock. "You haven't slept at all? Why not?"

He noticed the younger man's guilty look, and grew suspicious. "What happened? Spill it, son."

Hiccup turned his face away from his father, and bit his lip in agitation. "I…I said something…that I shouldn't have…"

"Hiccup?" his father asked in a gentle but questioning tone.

Suddenly the young man couldn't stand it anymore. He collapsed on the seat in front of the kitchen bench, his head resting miserably in his hands on the table. He choked past his sobs, "She's leaving me, dad."

Stoick was stunned to see his son so wretched, his words so broken and anguished as he poured out everything that had happened the night before. He explained about the panic attack, and the attempt to go for a night drive which had ended so dramatically. He told of Astrid's decision to leave and his own utter helplessness as he watched her go. He told of his inability to sleep, and his confusion as he calmed Astrid in the middle of her nightmare. He told of his own torment and despair, not knowing how to right the wrongs, or how to make the pain go away.

With every word his distressed son spoke, Stoick felt his stomach drop deeper and deeper into his boots. He had never heard so much heartache pour forth from his son before. He clumsily patted his troubled son's shoulder, wondering how he was going to get him past all this.

"Maybe it will be a good thing for the two of you to separate for a while," he started hesitantly. At the look of complete disbelief and betrayal that instantly shot his way, Stoick hastily quantified what he meant. "I mean…think about this…the two of you have been living in each other's pockets for the last few weeks, in a very intense situation. Maybe a break will help with your perspective. It's obvious she still loves you deeply. That's why even in her sleep you were still able to calm her."

He could see Hiccup chewing on his lip, contemplating that thought.

Stoick pressed on, "I'm not saying it will be easy…in fact I'm sure it's going to be quite tough...but maybe it will help both of you to appreciate what you've still got, instead of focussing on what you've lost."

Hiccup looked up startled at that piece of insight.

Stoick smiled grimly, knowing full well how hard that was to do. "What has happened…cannot be undone, Hiccup. No amount of wishful thinking or laying blame, will ever change that. The only thing that can be changed, is how you feel about it. I'll leave you with that thought…"

Stoick had to leave then, his own emotions out of control. He went into his office, sitting heavily in the chair behind the desk. He sighed, before reaching forward to pick up a photo of a beautiful slender auburn haired woman. He ran his fingers over her smiling face with so much longing and sadness, it was heartbreaking. It had been many years since she had passed away, but he still felt it as keenly today as he had then. Time had not dulled the pain, but he had learned to endure it.

For Hiccup's sake.

He thought now of his despondent son, knowing it was useless wishing his beloved wife was here to help him cope with this heartache. At least Astrid was still here and alive. Now his son just needed to realise and cherish that, before he lost her forever. Stoick sighed deeply again. It was all up to Hiccup now.

-oOo-

Stoick was at the kitchen table later that morning, when he noticed Astrid leaving her room carrying a small bag with her. He watched as she braced her shoulders and walked towards the front entrance, hesitating for a moment as she passed Hiccup's closed bedroom door.

She dropped the bag on the floor, then turned towards him.

"I…I'm sorry Stoick. This was not how it was meant to go…" she stuttered.

He put a hand up to stop her. "It's alright, Astrid. I know….You both need some time to adjust... How long till your parents are here?" he asked carefully.

"They…they should be here soon."

Stoick nodded, "Aye. I guess you want to leave as quickly as possible."

Astrid silently agreed as she wiped tears from her face with the back of her hand.

He quietly offered her a tissue as he told her in a low tone, "You are always welcome back, Astrid. I hope you know that."

Astrid nodded again as she accepted the tissue gratefully.

"Thank you," she mumbled as she wiped her face with it.

She jumped as the front doorbell rang. Throwing a panicked look towards the still closed door down the hallway, she whispered with her eyes wide, "They're here."

"Aye, that they are," agreed Stoick solemnly, standing up to head towards the entrance.

"Tell him I love him," she begged desperately, as she wavered between her desire to leave, and her need to see Hiccup once more.

Stoick gravely opened the front door to the girl's parents, who soberly nodded to their friend. Once again they were left devastated at what had happened to come between two such beautiful young people. It had not been that long ago when the two had finally confessed their true feelings for each other, and now a terrible tragedy was slowly ripping them apart.

With a last lingering look at Hiccup's door, Astrid walked into her mother's comforting arms and sobbed uncontrollably, as Stoick handed her small bag over to her father. Her mum kissed her as her father rubbed her back. Both of them stood with an arm around her before escorting her to their car.

She was already seated in the backseat when Hiccup frantically emerged from his room, taking long strides to reach the door in time. His ashen and devastated face stood silently beside his father as he watched the love of his life leave down the driveway. Astrid turned her face towards him and sadly placed her hand flat on the window towards him as the car turned the corner, and disappeared from his view.

Hiccup seemed to collapse on himself, and his father gently tugged him into a comforting hug, allowing the distraught boy to moan with grief into his broad chest, his own heart breaking at the unfairness of it all.

"Come on, lad," he urged quietly, pulling him back into the house. He helped Hiccup to the couch and watched as the teenager curled up listlessly into the corner. Even Toothless whined, as he placed his snout in the boy's lap. Hiccup turned to stare sightlessly at the furry face in front of him, but otherwise did nothing to acknowledge him.

Stoick gave a despondent sigh, as he went to prepare a steaming hot mug of tea for them both. It was going to be a very difficult time for them all, he could see that quite clearly. He sat beside his son, offering him the tea he had made and the two sat quietly for a few minutes, sipping their drinks.

Stoick turned to Hiccup, "I know this isn't easy, son, but you need to find a way to push ahead. Find a way to fight your way out of it."

Hiccup turned to him with empty soulless eyes. "How am I supposed to do that, dad? I'd love to hear your answer," he told him flatly.

Stoick cringed inside at the impassive boy in front of him. "She loves you, Hiccup, no matter what. She left only because she felt she had no choice. Astrid has been hurt badly by all of this...but she still needs you, Hiccup. She wants to help, but if you keep shutting her out, than how can she?"

The young man stilled, listening closely and thinking furiously.

Stoick leaned towards his son earnestly, "Fight against those dark thoughts… I know you can do it…I…I'm proud of you…of you both…for the way you handled yourself out there….But it's not over yet, not till you let it go. Do you understand what I'm saying, Hiccup?" he pleaded.

Hiccup sat chewing on his lip, contemplating what his father had just told him.

Stoick leaned back and abruptly indicated to all of Hiccup's frail form. "This has also got to be improved…"

The young man raised a questioning eyebrow in disbelief.

"You can't think straight if you're wasting away, my lad. I want you to start eating properly again…and get some sunshine. You're so pale, anyone would be excused for mistaking you for some sort of a ghost," he chided gently.

Hiccup couldn't help it, "Cause I haven't finished haunting the hallways at night anyway, right?" the beginnings of a smile skirting around his lips.

Stoick grinned, and clamped his hand on the young man's shoulders. "That's more like it! I knew there was some snarkiness left in you yet!"

Hiccup let the corners of his mouth twitch upward momentarily, but it was enough for his father. Maybe there was some hope for his son yet.

Hiccup bent down to give the wolf at his feet an affectionate pat, receiving a lick for his troubles.

Stoick noticed the interaction between boy and canine, and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Don't forget Toothless is always there for you, Hiccup," he rumbled gently. "If you ever feel like you can't talk to anybody, then talk to him." He leaned forward to give his son a pat on his knee. "And you know what the best part is?...He'll never tell."

Hiccup had to smile weakly at that, giving another grateful rub to the black head that he knew so well.

Stoick stood up. "Come on lad, time to have another go at getting some breakfast under those ribs of yours. We'll even make some extra for the wolf. That way you won't have to pretend that you 'accidentally' dropped a bit for him," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

Hiccup's eyebrows shot up in surprise and his jaw dropped.

"What?" his father asked, "Did you seriously think I never saw any of that? You mustn't think much of my observation skills!" he added with a laugh as he led the way into the kitchen.

Hiccup just gave a small rueful smile and shook his head.

-oOo-

"Well that sucks!"

Hiccup had just finished explaining to his friends, including Eret, now gathered around him in his living room that Astrid had left.

"Yeah, Tuff…it really does," mourned Hiccup, his head hanging in defeat as he sat on the couch.

Ruff spoke up, "It just seems so….strange…to not see the two of you together."

Snotlout growled at Hiccup with his arms crossed over his chest. "What did you do to her, man? To make her leave? Cause if you hurt her….."

Hiccup glanced up at his cousin with so much pain and self-loathing that Snotlout stood back in bewilderment. He had only been bluffing.

"You couldn't do anything more to me, than what I've already done to myself," Hiccup told him bitterly.

His friends stared at him in shock. What _had_ he done? The Hiccup they knew had always shown nothing but complete adoration and devotion to the missing blonde woman. For Astrid to leave him altogether, it must have been something pretty big.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked his friend hesitantly. "What happened?"

"I was a fool," the beaten young man said quietly, hanging his head in utter dejection. "I gave her no choice except to leave," he added in shame and humiliation at his own actions.

"Well…is she going to come back? I mean…it can't be that bad…can it?" asked Ruff nervously. The ground had shifted beneath their feet with the news that Hiccup and Astrid weren't together. The young couple had been the rock that the rest of them were built on.

"I…I don't know, Ruff," answered Hiccup truthfully.

The small group of friends sucked in their collective breath at that admission. They stared at Hiccup in disbelief and noticed how inexplicably _human_ he seemed to be. They couldn't recall a time when the young man _didn't_ have some kind of answer to resolve a problem.

"You don't know? What kind of answer is that?" asked Snotlout, completely unnerved.

"It's the only one I have right now, okay?" returned Hiccup with a touch of irritation.

"Hiccup," Fishlegs started gently, "Do you want to tell us what happened? Maybe we can help you get her back?"

Hiccup thought about that for a few moments, his brow furrowed pensively. Finally he nodded. "Alright…I'm desperate right now. Maybe talking about it will do some good."

The group focused on their unspoken leader. He was down and needed their support. They were willing to give it.

"Okay, Hiccup. Let us know what happened…and don't miss anything out this time," urged Eret.

Taking in a deep breath to steady himself, Hiccup told his story. When he had finished, the small group sat back in stunned silence, not able to comprehend that the young man in front of them had undergone so much mental anguish while they had been blithely sitting back thinking everything was okay.

Eret walked over to Hiccup and rested his hand on the slight man's shoulder, "Hiccup, we're all here for you…you and Astrid both. I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that all of us here worked hard to find you both two weeks ago….we won't give up on you now," he told him solemnly.

Hiccup looked up at his newest friend with gratitude. He glanced around at all the smiling faces before him, echoing Eret's sentiments with their nods of agreement.

"Thank you…" he finally whispered hoarsely. "This means a lot to me…"

Eret just patted his shoulder and stood back. Snotlout stepped forward, "Yeah….what he said….So, what are you going to do about it? About Astrid, I mean…" he asked cautiously.

Hiccup paused to think, but Tuff interrupted, "Isn't it obvious? He should go right up to her door, and _tell_ her she has to come back…."

Ruff yelled at her brother, "He can't do that, you idiot! She's not going to come back just because he tells her too…. What he really needs to do is kiss her silly…. _then_ she'll come back!"

Hiccup opened his mouth to speak but was cut off again as Snotlout snorted, "That would only work if it was _me_! You don't think that fishbone has it in him to give the ladies what they _really_ want!" He turned to give Ruff a suggestive wink, who promptly rolled her eyes and made a gagging gesture.

Eret spoke smoothly, "I think Hiccup must be doing plenty alright to give Astrid what _she_ really wants. I never noticed her complaining about it while _I_ was staying here with them."

Hiccup sat back in stunned silence, listening to his friend's debate around him why or why not Astrid would return, even throwing in a few more suggestions on how to 'convince' her to come back.

But as he listened, he found himself starting to relax a little. This was more the type of 'normal' he had always been used to, and even though his friends exasperated him regularly with their thoughtless or brash ways, he knew right down in his core that they all cared about him in their own unique way. A ghost of a smile even managed to dance around his lips as he shook his head at a ridiculous comment that Tuff had made.

Maybe things _would_ be okay.

-oOo-

Five days after Astrid left…she returned.

But maybe not in quite the way she had hoped.

Hiccup had opened the front door at the sound of insistent knocking, only to find a very indignant and disgruntled Astrid standing there. Immediately behind her were her parents, literally pushing her into the house as soon as the door opened. Hiccup actually had to reach out and steady the cranky girl, as the unexpected momentum caused her to stumble across the threshold. As soon as she regained her footing, she frowned again and stomped off to her room, leaving a confused Hiccup, with one eyebrow raised questioningly at her parents.

However it soon became clear why they were forcing Astrid back into the Haddock household. It seemed that Astrid had spent each and every night away from Hiccup, suffering terrible nightmares that clearly only he could ever hope to console her in. And the longer she went without his comfort, the more horrific they were, and the more extensive the time she spent under its terrible influence.

They had tried to soothe her, to no avail. So in desperation, they had returned her to the one person who had ever been able to influence her, even in her sleep.

Hiccup.

He listened quietly as his girlfriend's parents told him her story. He kept glancing towards the closed bedroom door, and his concentration deepened. He needed to help her. Now.

After they had left, leaving her small bag of personal items behind, Hiccup turned thoughtfully towards the hallway. He hesitated when he saw the bag. Collecting it from the floor, he headed for her door. He lingered for a moment, before gently tapping against the timber. After waiting a few moments, he sighed in defeat and was about to move away, when a scraping sound made him pause.

Astrid opened the door, then walked back to her bed to sit up against the wall with her knees drawn up and her arms crossed over the top. She said nothing, but was clearly in a defensive position.

He approached her warily, arriving at the end of her bed with the bag in his hand and dropped it next to her. He chose to sit on the bed on the other side of it, almost using it as a protective barrier between the two.

"Hey, Astrid!" he spoke softly.

She only glanced at him briefly, then turned away. But that small moment was enough for him to notice the dark smudges under her hollow eyes, where sleep had so obviously been eluding her. Astrid was normally a neat and tidy person, her hair usually impeccably styled, but he observed that grooming had not been a priority in the last few days.

She seemed so exhausted, and frail somehow. The fiery light in her eyes he was so accustomed to seeing had disappeared, replaced with a glazed and unfocussed stare. He wasn't even sure if she realised where she was.

He started off slowly. "I…I'm glad you're back," he told her softly.

She blinked as a small trickle escaped down her cheek.

"I've really missed you," he continued, not daring to bring attention to the tears he could see gathering.

He took in a deep breath, knowing he needed to sincerely apologize. "I…I'm really sorry, Astrid….about everything. I've come to realise just how senseless I have behaved, and I want to make it up to you. I was completely wrong about the way I was thinking… And to basically say you weren't beautiful anymore, was about the dumbest thing I could have ever said to you. You will always be the most gorgeous woman I have ever had the pleasure to meet...I love _you_ Astrid, in whatever shape or form you end up in. I want us to be together again. I want to live my life with you…please Astrid…please say you'll forgive me," he pleaded desperately.

She turned her shiny, damp gaze to him, and all he could see was a deep sadness.

"Oh, Astrid," he groaned at the sight of her, wanting so desperately to hold her tight in his arms. She dropped her forehead onto her arms but said nothing. Hiccup was going to pull away and leave her be, when he noticed her body shaking with silent sobs, as the days of no-sleep and nightmares caught up with her.

Hiccup acted purely on instinct. The small bag was quickly dropped on the floor, and he shuffled closer, sitting up against the wall beside her and gently drew her into his arms. She offered no resistance, but instead leaned into his chest while what was left of her defensive walls crumbled.

"I'm so sorry...so very sorry," she sobbed quietly.

"It's okay...shh...it's alright...you're here now," he reassured her, rocking her gently. He was only glad to have her here with him. They could sort out the details later on. But right now, she needed his love and support. And he needed hers.

They sat like that for quite a long time. Finally, Hiccup turned to give her a gentle nudge, but realised she had fallen asleep. He was momentarily bewildered as he wondered what he was going to do next. She was in quite an awkward position, but he didn't want to have to wake her.

He angled one arm under her knees, and the other behind her back, and shuffled her with a little difficulty, towards the middle of the bed where he could lie her on her side. As he guided her towards the pillow, he found that he was being tugged along with her, ending up with his chest against her back, lying on their side. Once he realised that he was unable to extricate himself without jostling her awake, he sighed. From there, it was an easy decision to stay, so he manoeuvred himself till he was comfortable as he could be on the bed, caught between her and the wall. He lay his head down, sharing her pillow, before resting his hand casually over her hip.

It wasn't long before Hiccup found his eyelids drooping heavily and he soon nodded off along with his long-suffering girlfriend.


	33. Chapter 33

**Last angsty bit, I promise. You can skip it if you want. Leaving it to you to decide...**

 **If you have been following this story for a while and came here expecting to pick up where you left off...I apologize. I deleted the last three chapters (30, 31, 32) and replaced them with altered versions of the same thing. So now, chapter 32 onwards are the new chapters.**

 **Confused? Good, so am I.**

* * *

Astrid jolted awake with a start. She was in a darkened room with a weight holding her down. As she stirred, the weight over her waist tightened. Astrid's heart raced, as she tried to process where she was.

Warm breath blew on the back of her neck and she shivered unexpectedly. She glanced down and was surprised to recognize Hiccup's arm wrapped around her. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she realised they were in her bedroom at Hiccup's house.

Still disorientated and confused, Astrid sat bolt upright, Hiccup's arm sliding off ungraciously and slapping onto the mattress. She moved to the end of the bed and pulled her knees up under her chin as she stared down at the sleepy boy still lying on her pillow. He was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Hiccup?" she questioned. "What are you doing in my bed?"

Hiccup blinked slowly, attempting to focus on the blonde sitting before him after being woken so unceremoniously.

"Don't you remember," he replied sluggishly as he stifled another yawn.

Astrid shook her head. "Everything's a bit fuzzy," she replied, searching around the room for clues to help her understand why she was in bed with Hiccup.

Hiccup was suddenly alert. "Your parents brought you back here," he told her slowly, gauging her response. "You weren't sleeping, and they thought you would be better off here….with me," he murmured. A red flush started to appear up the side of his neck as his embarrassment got the best of him.

She frowned, thinking hard. The last few days had become a twisted blur of reality and nightmare, making it difficult to separate the two. But she managed a moment of clarity, causing her to gawk at him, her mouth dropping open in astonishment as her memories came flooding back.

"They _pushed_ me through the door!" she said shocked and a little hurt.

"They felt you were better off here," he advised her carefully. He sat up on the bed and pushed himself up against the wall. He raised one knee and rested a casual arm over the top as he kept his gaze on her.

Astrid shook her head in disbelief, then something seemed to strike her. "What time is it?"

Hiccup's gaze flicked over to the digital clock at the side of the bed, glowing in the early evening gloom.

"It's barely seven pm."

"Seven pm? What time was it when my parents brought me here?" she demanded, as she frowned and scrunched her nose in confusion.

"Umm….I dunno…maybe about eleven o'clock this morning?" shrugged Hiccup.

"So…does that mean I've been sleeping since then?" she demanded to know.

Hiccup shrugged again. "I guess…I came in here not long after you arrived. Then you fell asleep against me, and I couldn't get out from behind you after I laid you down on the bed. So I stayed and…I guess I feel asleep too." He was feeling a little embarrassed by his confession, and scratched the back of his head subconsciously.

"Wow…." she muttered dazedly.

"I'm sorry about sleeping in your bed…" he started to apologize then dwindled off as he noticed that she wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

She frowned again and seemed to talk mostly to herself, "Huh! They were right…."

"Astrid?" Hiccup queried, worried about her lack of focus. "Are you alright?" He waved his hand in front of her face to gain her attention.

Her gaze snapped back to him.

"Uh…Astrid?" he asked again, nervously. "Are you okay?"

She grimly pressed her lips together. "Never better, apparently," she replied in a sarcastic tone.

"What do you mean?" he pushed his fingers through his sleep tousled hair. "Who was right?" he asked curiously.

She gave him that grim smile again. "My parents said that only you could help me with my nightmares," she told him bluntly. "I guess they were right."

"How long have you been having nightmares?" he asked with concern, leaning forward towards her.

She turned her head away from him and stared with embarrassment and some pain at the floor. She spoke quietly and Hiccup had to strain to hear her. "I haven't stopped having them since we woke up in the hospital." She continued softly, "…They weren't too bad to start with…there was always something to wake me up before they got out of control."

Hiccup nodded to himself, knowing how disruptive the hospital routine had been. Hiccup remembered how his room seemed to be unnaturally dark that first night home, after the bright lights of the hospital ward.

But something still puzzled him…

"You didn't have any nightmares today, did you?"

She shook her head slowly. "No….that was the longest sleep I've had since I left," she admitted. "I…I think having you beside me stopped me having another bad dream."

His eyebrows launched towards his hairline, and his mouth formed a silent "O".

Her fearful gaze flicked towards him. "That doesn't mean I want you in my bed every night," she told him quickly.

He shook his head rapidly, "No…no, I mean…no, I wouldn't do that to you…or think that," he stammered, blushing furiously now.

"Maybe…maybe just being close by is enough…you know?" she asked nervously, chewing on her bottom lip in that familiar way that he recognized when uncertainty overcame her.

"Yeah…that's probably it," he agreed a little too quickly.

She was thoughtful for a moment, before seeming to come to some kind of decision. "Yeah…that's it," she murmured so very softly, talking only to herself as she gave a curt nod.

Her azure blue eyes turned back to him, some of the uncertainly having been replaced by a tiny smidgeon of hope.

He held his breath as he cautiously asked, "So…are you going to stay then?"

She gave a bemused snort. "Probably won't be able to go anywhere else. My parents forced me back here, remember?"

The corner of his lip bent up quickly. He was secretly excited that she was going to stay, although he didn't want to say it out loud.

So he was full of concern instead when he asked, "So…will you be okay?...if I'm still sleeping next door?"

She flashed a look of annoyance at him, the feisty Astrid that he knew and loved, coming to the surface. He didn't know if he should be grateful, or on guard.

"You have to sleep next door…that is your bedroom after all," she informed him drily. Her composure fell again, "And…if the nightmares get too bad, perhaps you could come in here?" she questioned shyly. She kept her eyes on her hands, picking at the sheets.

His gaze on the worried young woman softened as he quietly and earnestly replied, "I would sleep on your floor every night, if that would help."

She glanced up at him to see if he was just mocking her, but found herself caught in his lidded deep green eyes as she saw that he was sincere in his quest to help her.

"I do love you, you know," he told her softly, still gazing at her with half closed eyes as he sat against the wall, his head leaning back on the wall behind him.

She dropped her eyes back to her restless fingers. "I know."

Hiccup asked softly, "What were your nightmares about?"

She didn't seem to have heard him as she sat in the same position. But he knew she had when he noticed her frowning. He waited patiently. If she wasn't ready to tell, then he would be patient some more. But if she wanted to say what had been haunting her, then he would be ready for her.

Hiccup noticed that she was shaking and quietly skirted towards her.

"You don't have to tell me if it's too much," he told her in a low voice.

She shook her head and licked her lips anxiously. "I…I want to…" she stammered, but couldn't say anything more.

Hiccup hesitated before drawing close enough to reach out and take her hand in his. She glanced up at him in gratitude.

"I…I…" she drew in a breath, then blew it out again to steady her nerves and her resolve. After all, this was Hiccup she was talking to. He had been there too.

"I see _them_ ," she whispered. Hiccup shuddered slightly but did not interrupt. "I'm hanging up on that hook…you know…"

He knew. He'd taken his turn too.

"They were beating me…and I was screaming…" she continued. Hiccup cringed. He didn't need to be in a nightmare, to see what she had described. "I was calling for you…but you never came…Hiccup, you never came…."

It felt like a knife had been stuck in his gut and twisted before being ripped out, the pain was so intense at the recollection he had not been able to help her.

"Astrid…" he began, but she cut him off. "I know you couldn't…how could you?...they had you tied up tighter than me….But…"

All the apologetic words he had been going to say melted off his tongue. "But what?" he asked curiously.

She paused, her eyes lingering on him as if seeing him for the first time. "One time, you did come."

"I did?" he was surprised.

She spoke slowly, as if unsure how to put her words together. "In one of my nightmares…you came for me. You tried to leave again, but I stopped you…and you stayed."

Hiccup pursed his lips in thought. The night before she left, he had heard her in her room. When he had come in, her nightmare seemed to stop. Maybe?

He gave a nervous laugh, "Ah….I may actually know what that was about…" he began. "I…ah….heard you…the night before you left…" he winced at the reminder, but continued. "I heard you having a nightmare, so I came into your room and sat with you. And…you, ah….seemed to stop…having a nightmare I mean."

She was perplexed at this news, but didn't let go of his fingers. She thought about her dream, what had happened when Hiccup had arrived in it. How he seemed to make all the badness just dissolve away, leaving her to succumb to a peaceful sleep.

Her face broke into the first genuine smile he had seen from her in a while. "Thank you Hiccup…for helping me even when I was asleep and didn't know it," she whispered gratefully.

Astrid leaned towards him, and Hiccup took that as a good sign. So he leaned forward and met her halfway with a brief kiss, before she pulled back.

"Just don't get too comfortable sneaking in on me at night," she warned. But she gave him a warm smile.

He gave her a cheesy grin back, "Yes, ma'am. Only genuine rescue missions allowed in your bedroom," he teased. She gripped his fingers firmly.

"Ow!"

They sat together in silence for a few minutes, still joined by their entwined fingers. Hiccup frowned as he recollected the terrible times she had been dreaming about. He spoke quietly, "I was there, you know. They forced me to watch…and listen…as they hit you. While one was working on you, the other held onto me. I was right behind you."

She gasped. But he hadn't finished.

"After you fell unconscious, they taunted me. They told me it was my fault that you were being hurt. That I had the chance to save you, but I had failed. That's why they forced me to watch you being beaten."

"Oh, Hiccup…" she was starting to understand why he was so down on himself. She hadn't known he was there, or that he had undergone anything extra to what she herself had endured.

"I…I tried to fight them, but they told me the more I struggled, the more damage they would inflict on you. So I had to sit and watch as they laid into you with their grubby fists…." He stopped to rake the fingers of his free hand through his hair, as he drew in a shaky breath. His anger threatened to overtake him and he tried to calm himself down.

He heard a small whimper come from her direction and turning his gaze towards her, realised that he had been squeezing her hand too tightly. He immediately released his grip and apologized, horrified at his actions. "Oh, Astrid…I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She only shook out her bruised fingers, "Hiccup! It's okay. My fingers are fine. I'm more worried about you, right now."

He raised both his knees and rested his elbows on them, as he placed his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry Astrid. I never meant for any of this to happen," he cried mournfully.

Astrid tucked her legs under and leaned forward on her knees. She gently tugged on his wrists till he was forced to look up at her. "I know you didn't. I would never blame you for any of it. They wanted to break you. It was their twisted game."

She lovingly kissed him on both his wrists and caught his eye with hers. "Now tell me, what else happened?"

His heart was still thumping loudly in his ears as he contemplated telling her the rest. She sensed his reluctance.

"Hiccup, please tell me. I need to know."

He nodded and took in a deep breath as she released his arms. He draped them over his knees again. She turned to sit beside him, up against the wall. She gave him a comforting nudge with her shoulder as she rested her own arms on her raised knees, echoing his position.

"Well, what do you remember?" he asked, turning slightly in her direction.

She 'ummed' before answering. "I remember they took you first, while I was tied to the bed. I could hear them beating you…" she choked back a few sobs before telling the rest of her story. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears that started to fall.

"Then they came for me. I saw them dragging you away…you looked…you looked like you were half dead," her lids blinked rapidly and this time she wiped her cheek.

"I thought they were tying you up to the bed. Then they hung me up and used me as a punching bag. I guess I must have blacked out after that because I don't remember anything more till I woke up next to you in that rat infested bed."

He reached across to briefly rub her arm. He filled in the missing details. "After you went out, they started on me again. But they used other means this time," he told her bitterly. "They threatened to target you again, unless I submitted to their torture. They told me they would make it so you would never be considered beautiful again."

He heard her gasp as she protectively wrapped herself around his arm. He dropped it, and allowed her fingers to intertwine through his.

"And _she_ would be laughing the whole time, mocking me and saying horrible things about you." His head fell back against the wall and his eyes were clamped shut at the memory. He had tried to push it down, but he knew it was important to talk about it, especially with Astrid.

He moved suddenly, and she let him go as he twisted his arms to show her the damage still visible. As she stared at the vivid lines, she noticed what he was pointing at. Many of the scars they had, were from the plane crash. But Heather and her gang had been quite committed to creating their own marks on the couple. The ones that Hiccup was now drawing her attention to on his arms and shoulders were different. They were clean and straight, whereas the others were jagged.

"See? These are knife marks. The others are from everything else," he informed her. He kept twisting both his arms so she could see where they were all hiding amongst the others. The sight of all those straight edged scars sickened her.

"And that doesn't include the ones on my body," he told her as he settled back against the wall.

"Oh, Hiccup," she whispered, appalled at what she was hearing. She couldn't begin to comprehend what he had gone through...to save her. But she wanted to know, to understand.

"Show me," she suddenly demanded.

"Huh?" he asked confused. "You want to see the scars on my body?"

"Yes, I want to see them. Show me," she demanded again.

"Uh…do you think that's appropriate?" he questioned nervously.

She was fiercely determined. "I don't care about any of that right now. Just show me….please," she added in a softer undertone.

He hesitated for a few more moments, but reluctantly complied when her impatient hands indicated for him to get his shirt off. He sat forward and reached behind his head to grip the shirt and pull it off in one easy motion, only pausing to untangle it from his plaster cast. She gave a horrified gasp, as she realised the extent of the abuse that had been forced upon him, the white scar lines clearly visible.

He obediently stayed in an upright position while she inspected him. She was very thorough in her search, using her fingers to twist and turn him so she could see them in the warm light of the bedside table lamp. His sore ribs only twinged a little as he moved.

"There's so many of them, Hiccup," she gasped, horrified. She found herself compelled to count them.

He shivered lightly at her cool touch. She was almost clinical in her approach but as her fingers drifted from one scar to the next, she couldn't help but allow them to lazily trail up his bare back and over his shoulder.

He was surprised by the violent shock of electricity that followed her touch, and he gripped her fingers when they landed on his chest. His breathing became a little heavier as he stared at her, his darkened eyes half closed. She gazed back at him, her want and need evident in her eyes too. Running her hands over his naked chest had proved to be a little more stimulating than she realised. She wanted to keep on touching him, to erase the hurt that each mark represented. She wanted something more, too.

Hiccup turned sideways to reach out and gently cup her face with his hand, as he drew her closer to him. He kissed her tenderly, slowly deepening the intensity. She tasted sweet to him as he thoroughly re-explored every inch of her soft mouth, the one he had been away from for far too long. Astrid wrapped her hands around his neck, tugging him in tighter as she allowed him entry into pure bliss.

She sighed softly as he left her lips in favour of her jawline and down the side of her neck that she willingly exposed to him. Small explosions burst inside her gut every time he connected with her skin. He came back to reclaim her mouth to continue what he had started, when an unexpected loud rumbling noise interrupted them. She pulled back from him and touched her forehead to his, her arms still loosely wrapped around his neck.

"Was that your stomach?" she asked with a giggle, breathless from the intensity of their kiss.

He pulled away from her to sit back against the wall. She settled against his bare chest, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yeah…I guess I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast."

He glanced over at the bedside clock and was surprised to see how late it was. "No wonder my stomach was growling, it's almost nine o'clock!"

"Nine o'clock!" she exclaimed in shock. "How did that happen?"

He glanced down at her with a small smirk, "You know how it goes; the minute hand keeps moving around the clock and….oomph!" Astrid backhanded him against his naked stomach.

"You and your violence," he complained light heartedly. "As if I haven't suffered enough, already," he teased.

"I can make you suffer some more," she threatened.

He kissed the top of her head, "Glad you're back," he offered lovingly.

"Glad to be back," whispered Astrid as she snuggled a little further into his chest, her hand resting flat over his exposed pectorals. Even though he'd lost weight during their hospital stay, he still had muscle definition. She found herself distracted again as she studied his form with her fingers. This was not an opportunity she'd had before.

She heard the hitch in his breathing but then his stomach growled again. She lowered her hand and patted his empty stomach. "I think it's time to feed this bad boy. And I wouldn't mind something either."

He sighed and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Okay. I guess it can't be put off any longer. Dad's probably made a stew or something, anyway."

He lifted his arm from around her shoulder and went to shuffle towards the edge of the bed. He stopped when she called his name, "Hiccup…"

He turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "Mmm?"

She spoke quietly, "Thank you….for being there….for being here."

He gave her a crooked grin. "Anytime, m'lady! Anything you want, just call. I'm only a bedroom away, you know!"

She gave him a mock frown, but leaned in to steal another quick kiss from him.

"I know. Now…where's this food?"

-oOo-

It had been a full two weeks since Astrid had been forced back to the Haddock household by her own parents. They had since brought more and more of her belongings over, as it was obvious to everyone that Astrid was here to stay. The 'temporary' arrangement had now become permanent. All parties concerned were happy with the idea, except for perhaps Astrid's mum who kept crying about her baby 'leaving the nest'. Even after Astrid had drily reminded her that _they_ were the ones who had left her there.

After that first day, Astrid's monstrous nightmares had slowly slunk away, and the ones she did have weren't so bad. She had told Hiccup quietly one day, that he was always with her in her dreams, helping her through. Of course, he had been pleased that she was coping much better, and a little chuffed that he was able to be there for her, even in her dreams.

They had also since spoken together about all the things that Hiccup had wrongly blamed himself for. They had been frank with each other, and after that lengthy conversation both had grown in their understanding and appreciation for the other. Hiccup still felt guilty at times, but at least now he knew Astrid would be there to support him and encourage him to move forward. It seems that their relationship was finally getting back on course after being diverted for so long.

The pair had also decided to tell their family and friends about what had _really_ happened those few days they had been missing. It had been an important step towards healing, as they shared their experiences with those who loved them the most and who had put in such a huge effort to bring them home.

Even though it had been quite an emotional discussion, Hiccup had been glad they had gone through with it. Although he had been disconcerted about having to explain to Astrid's parents what he had done to their daughter. Especially when he had to explain how they managed to fit both of them into a single seater airplane. If the ground had opened up and swallowed him then, he would have gone gladly.

The process had ended after Astrid had forced him to remove his shirt and show them all the many scars he had accumulated at the hands of Heather's thugs-for-hire. Of course, they had all been shocked, especially his father. But he had seen the new found respect in the eyes of all of them as they acknowledged that Hiccup had proven to be a determined young man, despite their trials. Even Snotlout had said so, which had been the most surprising part.

-oOo-

A month later, Hiccup was feeling much more positive about the future. The sun had finally started to shine on their lives, and no one was happier about it than Stoick, the proudest father in Berk. For him, having both his kids in his house under his protective gaze, and seeing them regain their physical and mental health was a miracle in his eyes. Especially as he saw the strengthening of their relationship.

Hiccup's arm was still wrapped in plaster, so he was still restricted in driving anything mechanical. But he was using the time instead to overcome his panic attacks around his precious Harley. The first few times he had tried to approach the black and chrome bike by himself, he'd found himself sweating profusely and suffering an overwhelming sense of fear. But with Astrid's help, he had been able to break the process down into manageable baby steps, and had finally been able to get near the bike without falling to pieces. He had even spent the last two days repainting a new mural on the petrol tank. It was a new design, of him and Astrid standing close together, encircled by a black dragon with green eyes, and glowing blue scales.

The young couple hadn't actually taken the bike for a ride yet. That was next on Hiccup's 'to-do' list of things. Hiccup still suffered flashbacks about it, despite the progress he had already made, so it would probably be a lot longer before they could take it on the road. Astrid was keen to jump on the passenger seat again, but she decided she could be patient too.

Stoick had finally felt comfortable enough to return to work. Hiccup had felt relieved at that, as he had felt so guilty for being responsible for keeping his father away from such an important job. Stoick had only shooed away his concerns, saying he had competent people working for him who could cope with him not being there for a few days.

It had actually been Gobber who had escorted them out to the airport, to check on his beloved Cessna. Hiccup had inspected it all over thoroughly, but Gobber had already done a great job of repairing it. The last trip he had taken in it had been a frightening one, but not enough to deter him from flying again. Being there at the airfield, had ignited a serious itch to become airborne again, but he wasn't able to do that until he had received a clean bill of health for his broken arm. Whenever he became restless over it, Astrid was there to pull him through and keep him distracted. Another day gone, was another day closer to his dream of returning to the skies.

They had also kept themselves busy catching up with their university studies. They still hadn't actually stepped foot through the uni doors, but were using the internet and conference calls to stay connected with their educators. Knowing that Heather had been there was still a bit much to deal with. Their educators had been most sympathetic, but they were going to have to go in at some point. Otherwise they might have to both defer their courses, and neither were keen on that idea. But for now, they were able to avoid it.

Speaking of Heather…although everyone around the young couple had tried very hard not to…her and her beserker pals had been sent to prison to wait their trial. Stoick had vowed and declared that he would spend every last penny he had to make sure none of the trio would ever surface from there again. He had put together an unbeaten team of lawyers to build their case against them. So far, neither Hiccup nor Astrid had been asked to recount their adventures, but it was going to happen soon.

Hiccup and Astrid still had their bad days, although they tried not to have them at the same time. Whenever Astrid suffered from nightmares, she would end up withdrawn, exhausted and snappy. Hiccup learnt to leave her be, until she was ready for him. Then he would help her to relax with lots of pampering. On other days, it was Hiccup's turn when he would suffer panic attacks and anxiety. Then she had to coax him out of his fear to get him to breathe normally again. Astrid had to learn patience, infinite patience as she took him step by step to some kind of 'normal'.

Occasionally, they would both have bad days at the same time. On those days, everybody ran. Someone named it 'The battle of the Bewilderbeasts' in a half serious, half joking manner. It was not to be scoffed at...an irate Astrid versus an out-of-control Hiccup. Stoick was waiting for the days sparks would literally fly from the two and set his house on fire. Or at very least, cause an earthquake. And usually, without fail, at least one would storm out of the house to go 'kill some trees'. But by the end of the day, they would be in each other's arms, begging forgiveness and swearing to do better next time.

But gradually, things got better. They had come a long way…but there was still a long way to go. But at least they were heading in the right direction….

And that's all anyone could ask for.

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 **One more chapter for the end of this arc, then onto a new one! Story is almost finished. Yeah!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Yah! The exciting conclusion for the last arc...but we're not quite done yet! The last arc will start in the next chapter before this story finally comes to an end. Phew! It's been a very, very long drawn out process, but I'm very excited to be here. Now let's get moving...**

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Hiccup was excited. Today was the day!

The day he was going to fly!

He had finally been given the all clear for his broken arm, and his mental health. It had been three months, since that fateful day when Dagur had confronted the two of them in this very plane. Three very painful months, as he and Astrid had striven to recover from the physical and mental damage that had been done to them. He knew life would never be the same again, that this episode in their lives would forever impact on them. He wondered briefly what life would have been like for them, if they hadn't had to go through all that. He dismissed it. It was useless trying to think about the 'what ifs'. It had happened, and no amount of wishful thinking was ever going to change it. They just needed to find a way to come to terms with it all, and not allow it to take over their future.

And today, his future involved getting back into this plane. He was currently standing beside the little Cessna that he knew intimately, having put most of it together at some point. He ran his hands over the cold steel, like a long lost lover. As he stroked the machine, he felt the pent up tension start to release itself. The longer he had gone without being in the air, the more agitated he had found himself becoming. Flying to him wasn't a job, or even a pastime, it was a _need_. He _needed_ to fly.

And today he was finally going to do it!

"If you play with that thing anymore, I'm going to get jealous," said a voice behind him. Hiccup turned with a huge grin, to face his girlfriend. The blonde bombshell had agreed, in fact insisted, on coming with him for his first flight back in the air. She stood with her arms crossed, her hip pushed out to one side and a few blonde strands hanging over her face as she waited for him.

He teased her, "What? Are you telling me you're not keen on playing second fiddle to a plane?"

She growled at him, "I don't play second fiddle to anyone…especially not a plane!"

He winked at her. "I won't tell her if you don't."

Astrid rolled her eyes at him, before coming over and linking her arm through his. "Are you ready for this?"

"More than ready," he replied, turning back to the aircraft lovingly.

"Hey!" she punched him lightly on his arm. "Just don't forget about me while you're salivating over your hunk of metal."

He turned his deep green eyes on her with such intensity that she felt it was a wonder she hadn't melted into a puddle on the tarmac already. "I could never forget you, Astrid," he told her fiercely, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her in tight against him.

She felt pinned under his gaze, and could only manage a small nod. "I know," she said in a low voice, not wanting to move or look away.

"When you two love birds have finished making out, maybe we could get this show on the road?" said Gobber behind them.

Astrid blushed as she drew back. Hiccup only gave a delighted laugh.

"How lucky am I? To have my two most favourite girls with me," he asked the mechanic.

Gobber gave him an indulgent grin, "As lucky as they get, Hiccup. Now get a move on. We haven't got all day you know."

The plane was sitting outside the shed, where Gobber and Hiccup had worked on it earlier that morning to get it primed and ready for its first flight. Hiccup had been out at the airfield practically every day for the last week, cleaning, polishing, tinkering. He'd been forced to wait until he could show he had enough muscle strength to safely operate the plane. So he had been exercising his arm to build up his lost muscle mass. The skin on his forearm had turned a pasty white under the cast, and even now, the colour had not fully returned despite his best efforts to expose it to some sunshine.

He had also been exercising the rest of him, and built up a new physique that Astrid openly admired. They had started running again, and were slowly building up their stamina together. Toothless had been most grateful for the forest runs and the chance to get out of the house. Wolves were not known for their lap-dog attributes, and the weeks of confinement had not been pleasant for him.

To the black wolf's disgust however, he had been left at home today. This flight was not for him. It was for Hiccup and Astrid to do together. They both felt it was important for the two of them to do it this way. A way to release all the lingering demons.

Hiccup turned to Astrid, "Ready?"

She nodded, "Yes! Are you nervous?"

"No! I'm excited, but I'm not nervous," admitted Hiccup.

"You look as giddy as a school girl," commented Gobber cheerfully.

"I do not!" objected the young man.

Gobber and Astrid only laughed at him.

"You do a bit," his girlfriend told him, mischievously.

"Not you too!" groaned Hiccup in mock annoyance. "Anyone else with an inane comment?"

"Not me!" said a new voice.

Hiccup looked up as his father came into view around the corner.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to receive a bear hug from the huge man.

"Looking to see my two favourite people travel safely in their first flight back," he told his son.

"I thought you were going to be busy this morning?" Hiccup asked.

"Aye, I was. But I told them I had a pressing engagement that couldn't be missed," he told the pair, with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm glad you're here," said Hiccup appreciatively.

Gobber made a show of looking behind Stoick. "Anyone else? Have you got any more of your fans showing up to wish you a good flight?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Hiccup shook his shaggy head, "No Gobber. I told everyone else to stay away. This was just for me and Astrid….although I'm glad you are both here," he added hastily.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world," his father told him gently.

"Great, now get in the plane or you'll miss your time slot," said Gobber urgently.

That got the young man's attention. "Okay. Let's go," he told Astrid.

He got in first, then extended his hand to help her in. She climbed in easily and settled herself down in her seat, accepting the headset he gave her.

He then went through his pre-flight checklist with a huge grin plastered all over his face. He didn't think he could remove it even if he wanted to.

Astrid was feeling a little nervous about the flight, but her attention was totally focussed on the boy beside her. She really wanted today to work out for him. There was a little fear that he would baulk or pull back or freak out, and she didn't want that to happen. That was one of the reasons she had insisted on being part of his first flight.

Just in case.

Finally Hiccup was ready to start the engine. His excitement climbed to fever pitch as he paused a moment before the final impact. He turned the key, and was blissfully rewarded by the prop turning just as it should, the sound of the engine roaring filled his ears with beautiful music. He realised just how much he had missed all of it, and he sat back in his seat, soaking up the sights and sounds that he had craved so desperately.

Gobber was off to the side, indicating to Hiccup that he was clear to move out. Stoick stood beside him, and the two men waved as Hiccup pushed the throttle forward and directed the plane towards the runway.

Finding his position in the waiting lane, Hiccup spoke through the radio to the control tower, "This is 'Night Fury' on Bravo Romeo Kilo 1…2…3… asking permission for take-off."

A voice crackled through his earpiece, "Roger that, 'Night Fury'. Good to hear your voice again. Are you giving us another show today?" came the teasing response.

Hiccup turned towards Astrid in amusement. "Negative Control. Just a straight forward boring flight today. Thanks for asking!"

"Good to know, 'Night Fury'. Take it easy up there, okay?"

"Thanks Control. I plan to. I've had enough excitement to last me a long time!"

"You're cleared for take-off 'Night Fury'. See you on the upside!"

"Roger that Control. Taxiing out now."

Hiccup directed his small plane to the end of the runway, the electrifying buzz in the air mounting with every second that passed. Finally! It was happening! He found himself relaxing more and more. It was if he had stopped breathing for the last three months, and he was now able to take in a life-giving blast of air. He felt euphoric.

Concentrating on his controls, he pushed forward on the throttle, feeling the power of the engine dragging them forward, listening to the roar of the motor as the revs increased. The thrum of the tyres as they rolled down the tarmac increased the intensity of the decibels. The solid connection with the ground could be felt through the jolts coming through the fuselage. He felt the familiar sensation of being pushed back into his seat as he maintained a back pressure on the yoke to keep the front nose wheel up as they hurtled down that white line.

The engine strained as he continued to pick up speed, smoothly pushing the throttle forward. Soon, the noise from the tyres had abated, letting him know that they were slowly rising into the air. He felt the blood rushing through him as he confidently pushed the yoke forward a little to start to level off until they had ascended enough that the risk of crashing had dissolved. They had the lift they needed, and they were free!

He lifted the nose of the plane once more, and increased their altitude. He felt the exhilarating thrill that rose from his gut as the distance between the ground and the plane rapidly grew, and he laughed out loud with sheer joy. At last, he felt truly alive!

He banked to the left, and circled around to where Gobber and his father were watching. As he passed over, he waggled his wings at them, and saw them raise their arms in response.

The young pilot turned his attention back to his passenger, his face flushed and his eyes bright with the pure exhilaration of flying. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Being in a plane did not induce the same amount of satisfaction for her as it did him, but watching him come alive before her was everything she hoped it would be. She had been worried about him having a negative response, but could see now there had been nothing to worry about.

"Where are we going?" she asked her handsome pilot as he continued to increase their altitude.

He grinned in delight. "Nowhere in particular, but we _might_ end up towards the outer islands. I want to do a little re-con work."

"Re-con?" she questioned.

"Yeah. Dad asked me to do a flyover and check out the runway on one of the larger islands," he told her.

"That sounds like fun."

"It will be," he promised enthusiastically.

Astrid was briefly astonished to feel a sensation of weightlessness as Hiccup levelled off. He noticed and laughed with happiness.

"Isn't it great?" he enthused. "I just love the way flying invigorates me! I feel so free up here! Not even gravity can get me down," he raved.

Astrid had to smile at his infectious enthusiasm. "Actually, gravity will always win…but I understand."

He took hold of her hand and kissed it, before returning back to the controls.

He turned to the side window to scan their surroundings and noticed the shadow of the small aircraft following them on the mountain side below.

"Look out there!" Hiccup told her in delight, pointing it out with his finger.

Astrid peered over his shoulder to see what had inspired him. She watched the plane's shadow dart over the terrain below, and was surprised to find a spark of excitement stirring in her gut at the sight. She stared at it for a few moments longer, allowing the sensation to grow within her.

He saw the interest in her shining eyes, and gushed, "It's intoxicating, isn't it?"

She shook her head wryly at him, "I think it's you that's intoxicating. If I'm not careful, I'll end up as mad as you!"

He laughed with such unrestrained joy, that Astrid found her body tingling in response. He took one hand off the control wheel to cup the side of her face and bring her closer to him. She closed her eyes and accepted his gentle kiss with a sigh, her senses heightened by the passionate enthusiasm energizing through him. She was not surprised to find sparks igniting along her skin wherever he touched her.

The moment was only brief, but when he pulled away from her, she could see his eyes had darkened with a deep emotion that she was sure was reflected in her own eyes. Her head was buzzing as she told him, "Wow! If that's what flying does for you, then I should kiss you in the air more often."

Her reward was another brief kiss, before he pulled away reluctantly. "That could be a dangerous combination," he told her huskily, his eyes still smouldering darkly.

She couldn't pull away from his gaze, and swallowed with difficulty as her thoughts took her places they had no right to be at this moment.

He saw the desire in her eyes and knew he was in trouble. With great effort, he turned his focus back to the sky outside. "Probably best to keep my attention on what's happening outside the plane, not inside," he told her, glancing briefly in her direction with a small suggestive smile.

Astrid felt her heart lurch as if he was directly pulling on strings attached to it. She scolded herself for letting herself get so carried away, but she still couldn't help covertly staring at him, noticing how much confidence was simply _oozing_ from him as he sat in his position of control, overlooking his domain.

"You really love this, don't you?" she asked in amazement, as she began to truly see the desire that drove him to fly.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Which bit?" he growled, making her blush.

"Flying, you dork," she muttered. "And keep your mind out of the gutter," but she couldn't put any sting into her words as she found herself struggling with those same thoughts.

He laughed with a husky rawness that made her blush.

"How am I going to do that? What with being right next to a living and breathing goddess," he told her, his eyes alight with fire and passion.

"Eyes forward, big boy," Astrid told him firmly, although she couldn't hide the smirk as the corner of her mouth twitched upward.

"Yes, ma'am," obeyed Hiccup, with a silly grin.

The silence between them was pleasurable for a few minutes, but it was soon broken by the auburn haired pilot. "You know, you never did get a flying lesson, did you?"

"Where are we going with this?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I was thinking we could take up where we left off," he shrugged.

Astrid's eyes widened as she gaped at him. "You want to teach me to fly?" she asked in disbelief.

"Sure! Why not?" he asked.

"Umm…..I don't know….Maybe because the last time we tried, I didn't exactly provide a stellar performance," she said flustered.

"Don't worry about that," he told her soothingly. "Although I still think you did a great job, considering the circumstances."

"Thanks," she said dryly.

"We've got plenty of time. And there's nothing I would enjoy more right now, than teaching you how to fly."

He gave her such an infectious grin, that she couldn't find it in her to refuse him, even though her curiosity had already been piqued. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes!" she laughed. His obvious pleasure was invigorating, and she wanted to be part of it. "But I've forgotten just about everything you taught me before," she told him worriedly.

He shook his head at her, "It doesn't matter. This will be just you and me, having fun together, finding the joy in being up in the sky."

"Okay," she agreed easily. No pressure then. Just having fun.

"Alright," he started. "Put your hands on the control wheel. Don't worry, I'll help you," he added before she could voice her concerns. "If you pull back a little, the nose will go up. If you push forward, it will go down," he instructed gently.

"Like this?" she asked as she very carefully pulled back. The plane responded with a gentle rise upwards. Despite her misgivings, she felt an instant buzz when she realised that she was actually controlling the aircraft.

"That's it!" exclaimed Hiccup. "Now try pushing it forward."

She did so, and felt the plane change direction. She could see the view changing outside as the angle of the plane took in different features of the sky and the ocean. A huge grin leapt across her face as she joyfully tried out her newfound skills again, and levelled off.

"Now you're just showing off!" Hiccup told her, amused at how quickly she had gained confidence.

"What's next?" she asked him eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Let's try banking to the left a little," he suggested.

She immediately twisted the yoke to the left and hung on, but was surprised when the plane performed a sudden roll and kept rolling, threatening to toss her into Hiccup's lap.

"Hiccup!" she cried, frightened she had done something wrong, and released the control wheel.

"Woah! Hold on there!" Hiccup laughed as he corrected the plane's direction, pulling it back into a straight line.

"What happened?" she asked, panicking.

"You left out the rudder," he told her gently, grinning at her confusion.

"You didn't tell me about that!" she accused him.

"You didn't give me a chance, little Miss Eager," he told her. "Shall we try again?" he asked.

She hesitated, but then nodded, her enthusiasm far from being dampened.

"Okay. Let's run through the instructions first this time, shall we?" he teased her.

She glared at him and smacked him on his shoulder, causing him to laugh at her again. But she wasn't really angry. This time she listened attentively, as he then explained to her how to successfully turn a plane, using the controls. He also explained about the forces that operate on an aircraft and keep it in the air. She was amazed at his knowledge and how he could instruct her in a way she could easily understand. Her appreciation for his talents grew the longer she listened and benefited from his tutelage. Time passed quickly as he taught her how to fly, and she was able to immediately put into practise all that she had learned.

Hiccup took over the controls again as they reached their destination; the largest island in a group of islets. A soft-field runway had been built there many years ago, but had not been maintained for some time after the last caretaker had left the area. Some eco-tourism companies were hoping to expand their interests on the islands but needed a working runway and plane service. They had been recently working with Stoick to develop a plane route. The first step had been to establish the condition of the current runway and see if it was suitable or if a new runway needed to be built. Stoick knew the perfect candidate to send out on this mission. So that was how Hiccup and Astrid ended up flying all the way out here.

Astrid had found it quite amazing to actually fly the plane herself, and she had lost some of the trepidation she had felt in previous flights. Now she watched Hiccup in rapt attention as he lowered the plane to almost skim over the old runway, in order to observe as much as he could for his report. His concentration was highly focussed on the terrain underneath them, and keeping the small aircraft far enough from the ground to prevent suddenly losing their lift and crashing. They made several passes before he was satisfied he had seen enough. After that, they scoured the surrounding islands to see if there was a more suitable location for a tourist runway.

Astrid found it quite enchanting to see the islands so close, and the dangers posed by them flying in such a manner made the adrenaline pump wildly throughout her body. She didn't think she had ever felt as alive as she did then. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and her eyes shone with delight. She felt like she was intoxicated by life, and she didn't want this sensation to end. When Hiccup finally decided they had done enough scouting, he raised the plane back up to a more safe altitude and headed back for home. He turned to Astrid to ask her a question, but stopped short when he saw the raw energy emanating from her. She was practically glowing! His face split into a wide grin as he could see she was hooked on flying too. It made his heart leap with joy to see her so obviously passionate about something he had been doing for years.

"Got ya!" he said softly.

"What?" she asked, not hearing him properly.

"You're addicted," he smirked at her.

She blushed but did not deny it.

"So am I right?" he pushed.

"Hiccup!" she growled at him, in a warning tone.

He grinned at her again, "I'm right, aren't I?" he teased. "Come on, Astrid. You can say it! You're addicted to flying, just like me."

"I could never be like you," admonished Astrid. "Nobody could. You, dear sir, are a one-of-a-kind lunatic, adrenaline junkie when it comes to flying."

"Yeah…but it looks like you are about to become a close second," he teased.

"Words fail me, Hiccup…" she finally relented, turning to him with her huge eyes, and flushed cheeks. "I never thought flying could be so…wonderful."

"I know, right?" Hiccup added, laughing softly.

"Could…could you teach me some more, please?" she asked tentatively.

"Always, m'lady," he told her in honest delight. The trip back seemed shorter than the trip out, as they indulged in plenty of student-trainer moments and Astrid got her hands back on the control wheel again.

They landed back at the airport smoothly, under Hiccup's experienced hand, and Astrid's keen observation. The small Cessna taxied back to their private shed, only to find two men eagerly waiting to hear about the outcome of their flight. Astrid had to wait until Hiccup completed his post flight checklist, anxious to miss nothing, before she could leave the comforting confines of the aircraft cabin. Once she vacated her seat, she was bombarded.

"How was the flight, lass? Enjoy yourself up there?" asked Gobber.

"Was there any problems? Are you both okay?" asked Stoick worriedly at the same time.

Astrid didn't really focus on either of them. She immediately launched into an enthusiastic commentary on their flight. "It was exhilarating! I never knew flying a plane could be so exciting! I mean, I've been in a plane before but that was absolutely nothing compared to actually flying it. Gobber! I was actually flying it! Can you believe it? Me! Flying! How great was that? I want to do it again!" She turned away from her stunned audience back to the auburn haired pilot now exiting the Cessna behind her. "Hiccup! When can we do that again? I've gotta get back up there!"

He smiled at her tenderly with his trademark crooked grin as he listened to her still buzzing from the high of her first real flight experience. Gobber and Stoick were standing behind her, their mouths gaping open as they stared at the young pair. They weren't sure what they were expecting from Hiccup's first day back behind the control wheel after so long away, but it definitely wasn't this! The blonde woman was practically bouncing with enthusiasm.

Gobber recovered first. "Who is this girl? And what have you done with the real Astrid?" he questioned, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Hiccup chuckled, "I just pulled out the old Haddock charm and showed her how great flying is," he teased back, as Astrid giggled in front of him.

"That's my boy!" said Stoick proudly, glad to see that both were very much okay. He had been worried that Hiccup would lose his zest for flying, but he could see that was obviously not a problem. In fact, he seemed to have found another convert in the bubbly blonde. Not two words he would have ever imagined using to describe Astrid. But his son seemed to have done the impossible. Again.

The young woman in question launched herself at Hiccup, wrapping her arms around his neck and squealed. Yes, squealed. Another first. "Thank you, Hiccup! That was so amaazzing!" she told him.

"Woah, Astrid!" he said laughing, stepping back to steady himself. He had automatically wrapped his arms around her waist. But she had too much energy to sit still. She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him soundly, not caring who was watching. The two older men coughed and turned their attention elsewhere, although both were wearing massive grins.

Gobber nudged his friend, "Bit like you and Valka in your younger days, eh?" he teased.

Stoick blushed under his full red beard, "Gobber!"

"I remember what the two of you were like after you had been on a flight. Couldn't keep yer hands off each other!"

"That's enough, Gobber!"

"I'm just saying, like father – like son!" he nodded in the direction of the tall young man and his enthusiastic girlfriend.

Stoick turned in their direction. "Aye, that he is, Gobber. That he is. He's a special lad, that's for sure."

Gobber only grinned his wide toothy grin.

Everything was going to be alright.

* * *

 **I'm not a pilot, so I'm happy to hear from real pilots if I made an error somewhere. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and now have a smile on your dial!**

 **Big thank you to MCPO Mark-061 for pointing out an error. Hope you like the correction!**


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